When did Denmark-Norway exist?

Denmark-Norway existed 1523/1536–1814. On this map it is drawn 1526–1940.

How large was Denmark-Norway?

At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Denmark-Norway covered about 608,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Europe · Reformation to revolution

Denmark-Norway

1523/1536–1814

The Oldenburg dynasty's dual monarchy (the "Twin Kingdoms"), also encompassing Iceland, the Faroes, Greenland, Schleswig, and Holstein. Cross-reference Part 8 (Kingdom of Denmark).

See it on the map → Wikipedia ↗

Existed: 1523/1536–1814
Shown on the map: 1526–1940
Peak area: 608k km²
Region: Europe

Character

The Oldenburg dynasty's dual monarchy (the "Twin Kingdoms"), also encompassing Iceland, the Faroes, Greenland, Schleswig, and Holstein. Cross-reference Part 8 (Kingdom of Denmark). The union with Norway dates functionally from 1524/1536 (when Norway was declared a Danish province after the Reformation).

Christian IV (r. 1588–1648) was the emblematic king: a great builder (Renaissance Copenhagen, Kristiania/Oslo rebuilt), founder of trading companies, but his interventions in the Thirty Years' War and wars with Sweden were costly and often unsuccessful.

Absolutism

After defeat by Sweden (Roskilde 1658, losing Scania), the crisis led to the introduction of hereditary absolute monarchy in 1660–1661 (the Kongelov/Royal Law of 1665, Europe's most thoroughgoing absolutist constitution). The 18th century brought agrarian reforms (abolition of stavnsbånd, 1788).

End

Having sided with Napoleon, Denmark was forced by the Treaty of Kiel (14 January 1814) to cede Norway to the King of Sweden (Norway then asserting brief independence before a personal union with Sweden). Denmark retained Iceland, the Faroes, and Greenland.

Common questions

What was Denmark-Norway?: The Oldenburg dynasty's dual monarchy (the "Twin Kingdoms"), also encompassing Iceland, the Faroes, Greenland, Schleswig, and Holstein. Cross-reference Part 8 (Kingdom of Denmark).
When did Denmark-Norway exist?: Denmark-Norway existed 1523/1536–1814. On this map it is drawn 1526–1940.
How large was Denmark-Norway?: At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Denmark-Norway covered about 608,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.

Sources

This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each territory as the primary basis, with Encyclopædia Britannica, EBSCO Research Starters, the New World Encyclopedia, UNESCO, and academic works including Henry Kamen's *Spain, 1469–1714* and Shaul Stampfer's study of Khmelnytsky-era Jewish casualties. The article this entry is anchored on:

Wikipedia — Denmark–Norway en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark%E2%80%93Norway

This entry was last updated 27 September 2026.

This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made

Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.

Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).

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