Ethnography can be broken down into Ethnicity and Culture. I will address them in that order.

The ethnicity of Copenhagen is rather complex.  The native Danes are more of Nordic descent than German, making them decidedly Scandinavian.  However implications from both media sources as well as personal sources cause one to believe that Copenhagen also has a very vibrant Jewish community.  However, the jury is out on whether or not this is in reference to ethnic Jews or simply religious Jews.  But it may be safely assumed that those of Scandinavian descent command a healthy plurality, if not an outright majority, of the population of Copenhagen.

             The attitude of the Danes towards other ethnicities is interesting.  The media gives friendly coverage to Germanic citizens (located along the border with Germany) as well as a large Dutch minority.  But both the media (as well as an interviewed source) are decidedly hostile towards Arabic encroachment.  While these citizens (or sometimes non-citizens) are classified as “Muslims” the hostility towards them doesn’t seem to abate even if they are of Western faith.  Many parts of Europe, Copenhagen included, have begun to develop an “Us and Them” mentality.  This is evidenced by the fact that many countries in Europe, comparatively socially liberal to the United States, have begun passing harsh legislation targeting Muslims that we in the U.S. find appalling.  A good example would be France’s outlawing of burka’s or Italy’s Mosque tax (both measures that Danish fringe parties with noticeable support have been advocating).  Denmark has also been considering stricter requirements for citizenship, likely due to this same issue.

                The culture of Copenhagen is as vibrant as it is ancient.  Tracing their roots back to the ancient Norse, the Danish culture has a long and rich history of ransacking and killing other, less bellicose cultures.  After the cultural equivalent of adolescence that was the Viking Era, Danish culture blossomed into, well, more warfare.  But what marked the difference between the Danish Viking Era and the Danish Medieval Era was similar to what marks the shift from adolescence to college for American youths today: copious quantities of alcohol.  Yes, it was around this time that the Danish first started making beer.  Beer was such a huge deal in Medieval Denmark that beer was legal tender.  Copenhagen was particularly well-known for its beer (according to a history documentary), floating it down the many nearby rivers to other locations where it would be imbibed by the waiting consumers.

                Around the 1300’s Denmark got into a dispute with the Hanseatic League (a collection of free, democratic cities on the Baltic that formed a trade league).  They fought three wars with the League of which they lost two.  Copenhagen flourished during this period, its harbor welcoming all sorts of ships, including those of the Hanseatic League.  Hanseatic architecture makes itself very present in Copenhagen.

Note the brown building in the center.  The double-peaked roof is characteristic of Hanseatic Architecture as are the multi-terraced roofs.  I learned this by playing a computer game.  You really don’t learn everything in school.

Renaissance Denmark was known for its political system.  The trademark of its political system, popularized by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet: Prince of Denmark”, is that nobody knew exactly how it worked.  Not even the Danish.  As far as I can gather from Hamlet as well as historical tracts, the King of Denmark was elected except for sometimes when he wasn’t.  But he was only elected by a small portion of the population, except for sometimes when everybody voted.  But also marrying the former King’s wife could make you King, except that sometimes it couldn’t.  And also women couldn’t be elected except for that one time when one of them was.  The moral of the story is this: Be glad you don’t live in Renaissance Denmark.

                The early emphasis that Danish culture placed on equality (initially being a seafaring people) and individual competence (due to their early introduction to modern trade and commerce) as well as their early, if ridiculously confusing, semi-democratic system of government have all given rise to a very egalitarian society.  Common Danish hawking points in brochures are that women earn as much as men in the workplace and are very well-respected, at least by men who aren’t married yet.  The average Danish person, according to the Danish at least, tends to be far more concerned with the well-being of their community than their own.

                Danish culture has taken quite a turn-around in its time.  It went from completely barbaric to relatively civilized.  And it only took one and a half thousand years.   Copenhagen, frequently referred to by the Danish as “The Crown Jewel” of Scandinavia, was at the forefront of this rich cultural development.  The people of Copenhagen are a reasonable people.  That is their most distinguishing trait.  Rather than seek extravagance, they take pleasure in simple comforts.  Thus a sausage shop on “Every corner” according to a friend who visited Copenhagen.