Denmark’s Egalitarian Society

I believe the role of Eskrove's castle does have a large role in the egalitarian society of Denmark. This castle has centuries worth of historical moments in terms of Denmark's heritage and it is important that it is preserved even though it is owned by a rich Danish count. The owner responsible for preserving such a cultural landmark should not hold importance in the decision to find the upkeep of such an establishment.

I think it is extremely fair to have such a property owned by one individual especially since he and his family open up the doors of their home, the castle, to the public. Although they make a profit, the majority of their earnings go toward maintains the castle and preserving the integrity within the walls of this ancient piece of Danish culture.

Forestry Beyond Copenhagen

Copenhagen is a city that places a great deal of value on their green space. There is only so much room for natural green space within the city. Copenhagen is a small city and it does not take much time at all to reach an area where there is nothing at all but the beauty of the environment of the responsible authorities were very conscious of this when planning the expansion of Copenhagen.

The forest beyond the city and beyond the suburbs of Copenhagen is gorgeous. It is full of abundant plant life and indigenous wildlife although the flora outweighs the presence of Denmark’s fauna. I don’t view the preservation of these natural spaces as allowing the forest to take over the space left out of the urbanization plan do however  view it as a way to allow nature the chance to thrive and grow as it would have if there had been no human influences standing in its way.

If you take into account the five finger plan that illustrates Copenhagen’s desired future expansion, it is easy to see that there is so much valuable land in such close proximity to the city because that was what Copenhagers wanted and not just an accident. Every aspect of Danish green space has been extremely well planned and its execution extremely thoughtful and sympathetic to the Danish landscape. The integrity of the Danish landscape held more importance in the development of the five finger plan than the industrialization and convenience of Copenhagen’s urban expansion. 

Modern and Historic Parks in Copenhagen

Parks in Copenhagen are an important component of the cities green space. They are used by just about every Dane and are provided at no cost to the visitor in most cases. This wonderful resource has been a part of Copenhagen’s culture ever since the creation of the Fortification parks between the 12th and 15th century. As the years accumulated in Danish history, there grew a larger demand for more green space therefore inciting the creation of newer more modern parks throughout the city. The modern parks of Copenhagen are very different in many respects to the original parks of Copenhagen and have a very different ambiance than most others. For example, the modern park known as Superkilen, opened in 2012, is very modern in comparison to the Botanisk Haven which was founded in the year 1600. With this 400 year difference come along many differences between the parks which is expected given the periods when they were each created.

Superkilen has a modern feel from the moment one enters the park. It is sectioned off into three areas which each have a different atmosphere. The creators of this particular park attempted to cater to three different types of park goers. One section of the park is geared toward athletics, one for bikers and runners and the last for those who just want to enjoy a chunk of green space within the city while having the option of switching over to the other sections of the park at any time. This park caters to the youth of Copenhagen and there is a great deal of recreational equipment available in the park that is geared toward children and teenagers especially.  There is fitness equipment, a swing set, a basketball court and countless other fun filled amenities to be used. This park seems to promote fitness and activity for the children of Copenhagen and encourages socialization while helping to develop their motor skills and athletic abilities as they grow into teenagers.

Botanisk Haven is a wonderful example of one of the Fortification Parks that was created early on in the history of Copenhagen. This green space houses many rare species of flower, shrub and plant. It is very large in comparison to Superkilen and it spans over 10 ha of land. This park is not purposed for recreational activities but rather learning. Many students come to explore the wild species found in the flora of Denmark and the universities in Copenhagen utilize this park as a teaching tool. Unlike Superkilen, the park does not have 3 distinct sections each with its own purpose but rather it has a very large greenhouse with ample space on the rest of its property for planting and growing species that can successfully cope in Denmark’s natural city based habitat.

All of the parks in Copenhagen are individually unique but they can all either be classified as a modern space or a fortification space. Although hundreds of years of history stand between the two types of parks, they are both greatly appreciated by most residents of Copenhagen. Despite their differences in design and concept of use, they are used to suit the needs of the Danes who visit and provide many benefits whether they are for relaxation purposes or recreation.

Danish Golden Age and landscape

The Danish landscape has been popularly reproduced by Danish artists ever since the Danish Golden Age which lasted from the beginning of the 19th century to the mid 19th century. Landscape paintings have been a source of great creativity throughout the history of Denmark although it may not seem like the most inspirational setting. The rolling hills and coastal scenes of Denmark have been known to be quite eye catching and during the Danish golden age, there were a great deal of new artists finding pleasure in recreating the unique yet simple Danish landscape in their works.

Although Danish landscape was often depicted In the works of Danish artists, it was not always an accurate representation of how the land actually looked. For example the foreground, middle ground and background are terms used to describe each area of a painting in order to break the work down and interpret it's deeper meaning. If you look at many of the paintings during the Danish golden age, you will see that some areas are illuminated and some are shaded darker than others. This manipulation of light and shading gives the illusion that the sun is in an ideal area of the sky when the work was being created. This has been done by the artist yo create a sense of an "ideal state". Although this is not how the landscape looks exactly when being painted, this is the artists interpretation of how it would look under ideal conditions. 

Many artists of the Danish golden age also dramatized other aspects of nature in their works by emphasizing aspects of nature such as higher cliffs and sharper edges in their paintings. This method was used to give power to nature, especially in the case of the beautiful but somewhat boring Danish landscape. Peter Christian Skovgaard's piece from 1856 called "Beechwood" has been studied by many artists for the presence of a prominent road featured in the painting. This seemingly minute detail is a trick of the eye that draws the attention of the onlooker and creates the illusion that the road extends much farther than it actually does. Another example of an important Danish landscape piece is by Cristen Købke who created "View from Dosseringen" in 1838. This coastal scene has a figure on a dock with many shrubs behind it with an exaggerated Danish flag in the background. 

The flag depicted promoted national thought in Denmark and is one of the reasons that this painting is so widely known today. The Danish landscape has provided many artists with a starting point for their creativity and has clearly affected the culture of the nation, especially in terms of their golden age. These paintings and artistic figures are just a few of the byproducts of this era of Danish history.

Images used from Google Chrome web search

National Parks in Denmark and the U.S.

National parks in the U.S. are a very aspect of American culture. They have been created to preserve the wild life in various areas of the country and maintain and promote biodiversity. It is important to have a bio diverse flora and fauna from a biological and ecological standpoint hence the importance placed on the integrity of national parks in the U.S. There are very strict regulations in place regarding the preservation of these parks because there are many endangered species living within the boundaries of U.S. national parks. For example, gray wolves in yellow stone national park have come close to extinction several times but because of the protection of the park by the national government, they still exist today. The U.S. has many national parks and there are different animals in each of them because of the diverse geography across the nation. Some areas of country and flat lands, some are deserts, some have rolling hills and others have steep mountainous terrain. There are also many dangerous species in the national parks of the U.S. such as grizzly bears, wolves, coyotes and various other frightening animals. The animals in U.S. national parks usually shy away from visitors and are not known to be especially friendly. 

This is not the case in Denmark at all. National parks within the country exist, but not in such large quantities and are typically on a much smaller scale. This makes sense though if you compare the size of Denmark to the U.S. It would be impossible to have as much land in Denmark devoted to being reserved for use as a national park than in the U.S. Regulations regarding the preservation of national parks in Denmark are strict but no where near as regulated as they are in the U.S. For example, farming is allowed on the land of Danish national parks while in the U.S., it is not allowed whatsoever. Since the geography of Denmark is mostly flatland and rolling hills, biodiversity is much less than in the U.S. and fewer species are found within the country making it important to re introduce species back into the wildlife of Denmark. If this was not make a priority by the national parks, bio diversity within Denmark would eventually become obsolete. Also, as stated by the biologist who gave our class a tour of one of Denmark's national parks, there are not very many dangerous species in the country and the most dangerous species that they have is a poisonous snake. It was interesting to see the wildlife is Denmark up close and personal. While we were touring the park, several of the wild horses came up to the class and let the students pet them. It was an awesome experience that probably would not happen within the boundaries of any U.S. national park. 

Public and Private Greenspaces

It is a known fact that Copenhagen has an abundance of green space. The subcategories of Danish green space in Copenhagen are public and private which both have positives and negatives associated with them.  Public green spaces normally have a different setup than private green spaces do in the sense that the size difference between the two can be quite dramatic. Having a private green space is a very elite and they are very hard to come by. Typically parents will put their children's name on the list so that by the time they are in need of a private green space, they have the option available to them. The private spaces are fairly cheap but it is still an added cost to the everyday expensive life associated with living in Copenhagen. Unlike private green spaces, public are open to everyone in Copenhagen. Residents of Copenhagen are free to go there whenever they want and there is no cost associated with entering most public green spaces in Copenhagen.

The public green spaces are mostly very family friendly and inviting for children. There is typically play equipment for children and often a basketball court or some sort of other recreational equipment to entertain the teenaged youth. Depending on the park, it may be modern or a sort of fortification park; these tend to be more simplistic. Private green spaces in Copenhagen seem to be just the opposite from public green spaces. They are often very small are nicely decorated. They are not generally child friendly and are mostly used as a private escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. There is limited space in private green spaces as they are usually found in the form of private gardens. The private gardens are typically beautifully manicured and a lot of care is taken to make them feel like home. This sense of ownership is absent when talking about public green spaces. Public are maintained by the city and anyone can use the facilities. Walking around the public spaces, it was evident that some park users had a lack of respect for the facilities and had tagged the equipment and walls with graffiti. Despite this rarity, most Danes really enjoy their green space whether it be private or public. Green space in Copenhagen is definitely aged to come by but immensely appreciated by residents of Copenhagen and visitors as well.

TICKON

TICKON is an innovative site where artists from around the world have come to create one of a kind masterpieces. These pieces differ from most others in a typical art collection because they must meet certain natural criteria to be displayed in TICKON; they must be constructed from natural materials from the park itself or local sources. In addition, the work must be produced entirely on the land bad cannot be transported to the site after created. These regulations are yet another reason why TICKON is known internationally. Their dedication to the principles in which they were founded shows that the organization finds the natural Beaty of the park to hold more importance than the prestige that could be possible if they allowed outside installations into their collection. 

Being able to explore the park with its creator was a once in a lifetime experience. The creator, Alfio Bonanno, is a man of mixed decent with close ties to his Sicilian roots. After working as a struggling artist all over the world, he stumbled upon the opportunity to help get TICKON off the ground and in 1993 the park was opened with 14 one of a kind pieces by both Danish and international artists. As stated in the brochure for TICKON, the artists chosen to create their pieces on the land are giving "a gift to the landscape". 

Each piece on the land has its own story. It would be very easy to learn about the art of TICKON in a textbook or by googling the name of the piece, but not many people have the chance to walk around the park with its founder. Bonanno was very clear when explaining the importance of TICKON and how much the park meant to him. He said that he did not work so hard to open the park to make a work of his own but rather to enrich the artistic culture if Denmark. In fact, Bonnano did not create a work of his own in TICKON until many years after the opening of the park when they needed a new piece in the collection but there was limited funding at the time. He took this opportunity to create a work created from long logs and rocks. This beautiful piece has been standing for over a decade and is coping very well in its environment. Walking with Bonanno offered a completely different perspective on all of the artwork. The way he views the pieces is one which utilizes the beauty of the elements that affect the art. For example, the large rock in front of Bonnano's piece had a bird dropping on it. Many people would take this site for what it was and disregard its presence in the meaning if the sculpture but Bonanno did not. He viewed it as "an organic line that catches the attention of the onlooker" and thought that the temporary addition made the piece more interesting rather than take away from the beauty of his work. 

Traveling around to the other preceding, Bonanno was able to tell us stories about many pieces that the artists themselves told him. He was there from the very beginning and over 20 years later, he is still there supporting the future of the park. Sadly many of the pieces have diminished over the years due to the organic decay of the materials used but this fate was known from the very creation of the park. For example, the piece known as the "Organic Highway" by Mikael Hansen has been restored by the original artist twice already. It won't be restored again that because natural decay can only be prolonged for so long. Bonanno said that even though one day the park will only have mere traces of the once one of a kind works, the legacy of the art will always remain. 

The benefits of greenspace

Copenhagen is a gorgeous city, one full of green space and natural settings. City life is often hectic and over scheduled; many inhabitants come home from a long day in desperate need of an escape from stress. Urban green spaces, especially those of Copenhagen, are a great way to relieve this stress and find peace in a relaxing environment. Copenhagen has done a great job in making green space a priority in the every day life of a city dweller. Their goal to make a green space accessible to everyone in the city by a 15 minute walk has not yet been achieved; despite this fact, they are very close to reaching their goal. The benefits of ample green space are endless and can be categorized into three main subsections: social, ecological and economic.

Social benefits include the ability of children to interact with their peers from a very young age. They begin to develop these skills much earlier than those children who are confined. To social interactions within their classrooms and indoor play dates. As we saw at many of the urban larks today, there are many playgrounds and tools that allow children to use their imagination with their peers. Much of the playground equipment in the Danish parks is very interesting. For example there were ships, hollow televisions and countless other types of equipment to incite inspiration in the minds of Copenhagen's developing youth.

From an ecological standpoint, Copenhagen is an extremely green city. The urban green spaces of this city allow Copenhagen to decrease its CO2 emissions tremendously by having such a large volume of plant life within the boundaries of the city. This has been accomplished in many ways, some much less obvious than others. Although there are a plethora of parks and recreation spaces, there are also garden rooftops hidden throughout the city. These interesting creations reduce energy consumption significantly by proving heat and cooling insulation to the buildings that they reside atop.

Economically, green spaces give the areas where they are located many proactive advantages. For example, by having such a green friendly point of view, many residents of Copenhagen own bikes instead of cars or they utilize public transportation in their daily commute to the office. This mind set has decreased the number of cars on the road to such an insignificant number that parking lots across the city of Copenhagen have been removed and parks and other types of green spaces have replaced them. By decreasing this demand for parking, Copenhagen as a city has been able to change the function of there urban spaces to provide its residents with more opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and have more scenic views after those long days in the office. Further, urban green spaces have proven to be a great tool in reducing issues with mental health and other related topics. This in turn has decreased the every day costs of health care, improving the overall health of Copenhagen residents by a significant amount. Although being such a green city has a very large price tag, it has proven to be worth the sacrifice in the grand scheme of things; so much so that in several surveys, residents of Copenhagen have been proven to be some of the happiest people in the world.

Danish Prehistoric Greenspaces

The Danish culture is one that has grown tremendously throughout its history. I believe that this fact is mostly due to their ability to adapt to significant change within their environment. They were also able to utilize the resources available to them.  As humans, the Danes were able to survive many times over because when faced with issues with their environment, they chose to overcome those obstacles opposed to giving up and dying out.

The rolling hills and flat lands of the Danish landscape have made the country a mostly agricultural environment although this was the case in prehistoric times. During this era, the Danes were considered hunters and gatherers. They would travel from place to place following their food as the herds migrated toward more favorable weather conditions. A prime example was when their primary food source, the rain deer, migrated north. They traveled so far north that it became impractical for the Danes to follow in pursuit and they eventually stopped chasing the rain deer altogether. The rain deer were able to do so because of their fur coat composed of hollow hairs allowing them to withstand the cold temperatures of the north. Since the Danes were not the type of people to sit down and starve to death, they found a new food source known as the aurochs and continued on with their lives as hunter gatherers. But with everything, all good things must come to an end eventually, and years down the road the aurochs became extinct. The Danes were once again faced with a choice; they could either find another source of food to follow from one area of the country to the next or to try something new. In the end they decided to try something that they had never done before and settle down and inadvertently mark the start of an agricultural society.

              

When the Danes made the transition from hunter gatherers to farmers, they utilized the flat nature of the land to plant crops and form a more stable food source to support their following. They used the fertile soil of the plains to establish farms and from there communities began to form and more and more individuals began to settle in these areas. Daily life for the Danes became dramatically different when they changed the way that they used the land. They began raising cattle soon after and no longer needed to worry about what area of the land they would need to travel to in order to survive.  As a result of the creation of a new civilization, the land was deforested by the Danes and the landscape was sculpted to suit the needs of a farming community. As a result, many of the rolling hills were flattened to accommodate favorable conditions for farming.

The Danish are a very innovative people and their ability to adapt to the offerings of the land proves that the landscape does affect them in a very significant and vice versa. Over their several thousand years of existence, they have changed their lifestyle to suit the needs and desires of their people based off of the offerings of their land. They have successfully adapted to a great deal of changes and their ability to do so proves that the landscape can have a profound effect on their survival.