Denmark (Danemark)

Research Status: Basic Last Updated: 2026-02-10 Diary Coverage: Occasional references

Overview

Denmark appears in Marie Bashkirtseff's diary in connection with the Danish royal family (linked to other European royals through marriage) and the broader network of Scandinavian connections within European high society. Denmark in the 1870s-1880s was a small but culturally significant kingdom recovering from the loss of Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia in 1864.

Historical Context (1870s-1880s)

• King Christian IX: "The father-in-law of Europe" -- his children married into the British, Russian, and Greek royal families
• Princess Dagmar: Married the future Tsar Alexander III of Russia (becoming Empress Maria Feodorovna)
• Princess Alexandra: Married the Prince of Wales (future Edward VII)
• Cultural life: Copenhagen was a center of art and literature (Hans Christian Andersen, Georg Brandes)
• Post-1864 trauma: Denmark adjusted to the loss of its German-speaking provinces

Significance for Marie

• Royal connections: Danish royals linked to both the Russian and British courts Marie observed
• European dynasty: Part of the web of royal marriages that connected European states

Related Entries

• #Nice - Where European royals gathered