Ertholmene (formerly spelled Ærtholmene) is a small archipelago in Denmark . The largest island is Christiansø , whose name is often used with reference to the entire archipelago . Ertholmene are situated 18 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of Gudhjem , Bornholm , and include Denmark's easternmost point . Two of the islands, Christiansø and Frederiksø, are inhabited, with a combined permanent population (as of 2024) of 91. The archipelago has a total area of 39 hectares (96 acres). Its name is derived from the Danish for "pea islands".
15-517: Historically an important navy location, the fortress closed in 1855. Since then there has been no operable military infrastructure on the archipelago, but it remains under the formal administration of the Ministry of Defence , which employs 25 to 30 people for maintaining the islands' civilian infrastructure, museum and historical buildings. Today the economy of Ertholmene is almost entirely based on tourism , with tens of thousands of visitors each year,
30-400: Is tourism . There are about 45,000 visitors per year, mostly day visitors arriving via Bornholm during the summer months. Ertholmene is also a popular destination for yachting . Fishing used to be the main source of income, but today there are no commercial fishers on the islands. The islanders, who do not pay municipal taxes of any kind and were never part of a municipality, were exempt from
45-730: Is a ministry in the Danish government . It is charged with overall planning, development, and strategic guidance of the entire area of responsibility of the Minister of Defence , including the Danish Armed Forces and the emergency management sector. It is Denmark's ministry of defence and serves as the secretariat of the Danish Defence Minister. It is also the administrator of the easternmost land in Denmark ,
60-877: Is responsible for the Danish Armed Forces , the Danish Defence Intelligence Service and the Danish Emergency Management Agency . The Minister of Defence follows the directions given by the Prime Minister of Denmark and the decisions of the Folketing . The Danish Defence Law ( Danish : Forsvarsloven ) designates in article 9 the Minister of Defence as the supreme authority in Defence ( Danish : højeste ansvarlige myndighed for forsvaret ). Under
75-462: The Gunboat War . Many of the historical buildings now serve as living quarters for the local population, and some are rented, year after year, to regular summer residents. The islands' external appearance has changed very little in over 300 years. Girdled by thick granite walls with old cannons pointed seaward, Christiansø is a picturesque tourist spot seemingly frozen in time. A former part of
90-656: The Middle Ages . The first permanent settlement was the result of the Danish-Swedish conflicts in the late 17th century. As Denmark needed a naval base in the central Baltic Sea, a fortress was built on Christiansø and Frederiksø in 1684 which served as an outpost for the Danish Navy until 1855. Christiansø Church originally served the garrison. The population peaked at the census in 1810 which showed 829 inhabitants. They were soldiers and were there because of
105-667: The Church of Denmark (88.46% of the population). Ertholmene has never been part of a municipality, county, or region. The islands form an unincorporated area that does not belong to either a municipality or a region. Instead they are state property governed by an administrator, appointed by the Danish Ministry of Defence , with the responsibility being the tasks normally performed by municipalities and other public sector civil services. The major sources of income in Ertholmene
120-777: The Minister is the Chief of Defence , the senior-ranking professional military officer heading the Defence Command , who commands the Army , the Navy , the Air Force and other units not reporting directly to the Ministry of Defence . The main responsibilities of the Minister of Defence are to prevent armed conflicts and war, to safeguard the sovereignty of Denmark and integrity of Danish territory and to promote global peace and stability. Since 2002, these responsibilities have included
135-460: The central government "Health Contribution" tax ( Sundhedsbidrag ) which stood at 8% when it was introduced on 1 January 2007 with Kommunalreformen ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007) , because it was thought that the relatively isolated islets would otherwise be abandoned. This tax replaced the county tax, which the islanders were also exempt from paying, not being part of a county. From 1 January 2019 this tax has been abolished, while income taxes in
150-595: The fortress, Store Tårn has housed the Christiansø Lighthouse for the past 200 years, and a small round tower on Frederiksø, Lille Tårn, serves as a museum. Together with Bornholm, Ertholmene is part of Landsdel Bornholm. Ertholmene makes up the Parish of Christiansø in the Church of Denmark and is served by Christiansø Church . On 1 January 2017 out of 78 inhabitants in total there were 69 members of
165-688: The head of both ministries, though still with branch (Army and Navy) chiefs as administrators. This new Ministry can though trace its history back to 1660, when King Frederick III established a War collegium (Krigskollegium) for the Army to in both war- and peacetime to administer the Army. A similar command had previously been created for the Navy, the Admiralty (Admiralitetet) of 1655. The War collegium changed name to Krigskancelliet in 1679 and later to Generalitets- og Kommisariatskollegiet . The day after
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#1732781044250180-501: The lowest bracket have been raised simultaneously instead with this tax being phased out. From 2012, the tax was lowered by one percentage point per year. Christian V of Denmark Minister of Defence (Denmark) The Minister of Defence of Denmark ( Danish : Forsvarsminister , pronounced [ˈfɒːsvɑsmiˌnistɐ] ) is the politically appointed head of the Danish Ministry of Defence . The Minister of Defence
195-529: The majority on day-trips from Bornholm during the summer months. The archipelago's buildings and nature are protected by law, and access to the uninhabited islands is restricted. Ertholmene consists of three main islands, Christiansø, Frederiksø and Græsholm, plus a number of rocks and skerries . The inhabited islands of Christiansø and Frederiksø are accessible to visitors, but the remaining are only accessible to people with special permission. Fishermen from Bornholm have used Ertholmene for temporary shelter since
210-624: The political leadership of the Danish contribution to the NATO led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The current Defence Minister is Troels Lund Poulsen . In 1905, the offices of the Minister for the Navy and the Minister of War were merged to create the current office of Defence Minister. Ministry of Defence (Denmark) The Danish Ministry of Defence ( Danish : Forsvarsministeriet , short FMN )
225-484: The small archipelago , Ertholmene , whose administrator is employed by the ministry. The Ministry of Defence was established following the Danish defence law of May 27, 1950 (law #272), about the central structure of the military of Denmark . This combined the two previous ministries; Ministry of War (Krigsministeriet) and the Marine ministry (Marineministeriet). The Minister of Defence had already been created in 1905 as
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