By Simon Danneskiold-Samsøe, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo (at the top of the page): Mogens Engelund

Asta Nielsen, Tove Ditlevsen and Margrethe II made a significant mark on Danish history, but they are largely absent from public spaces. Statues of prominent women are still the exception rather than the rule.

A new report from a committee under the Ministry of Culture, anchored at Aalborg University, is now lending the country's decision-makers a helping hand.

The report "Flere kvinder i kunsten i det offentlige rum [More Women in Art in Public Spaces]" not only documents the historical bias, but also provides a list of 100 women of particular national importance as well as a database of almost 3,000 biographies from all parts of the country. These are intended as a practical tool for municipal boards, urban planners and others who need inspiration for statues and for naming buildings, squares and roads.

The Top 100 list includes the royal family's ancestor Thyra Danebod (died 935), women's rights activist Matilde Bajer (1840-1934) and Denmark's first female governor of the national bank, Bodil Nyboe Andersen (1940-2025). The list also includes women still with us like politicians Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Pia Kjærsgaard, handball player Anja Andersen and musician Anne Linnet. In addition to the many names, the report provides suggestions on where the statues could be best placed.

- It has been an incredibly exciting and overwhelming task, one that we approached with great humility. There is a historical imbalance in who is represented in public spaces and this shapes our view of who has created the Denmark we know today. It is important that we discuss this, and we have now created an inspiring catalogue that we hope will fuel a debate about how we adorn, shape and name our public spaces, says Julie Rokkjær Birch, co-author and director of Den Gamle By in Aarhus.

See the full report here

Popular mandate

To ensure the list has broad support, the committee reached out to Danes and asked for their suggestions. This resulted in a total of 3,834 proposals from over 500 different women. The 15 names that received the most votes from the public were automatically guaranteed a place in the top 100 catalogue, reflecting the Danish population's most important role models. But many of the other proposals were also incorporated based on an assessment.

- We are very grateful for the overwhelming commitment, and on behalf of the committee, I would like to extend a special thank you to all who contributed. It shows that this means something to us, and that Danes have a great desire to see our cityscape reflect our national identity in a more nuanced way, says Poul Duedahl, Committee Chair and Professor of History at Aalborg University.

The report consists of two parts:

• Top 100: The national beacons A curated collection of 100 prominent women whose life's work has such great, national significance that they belong in Denmark's historical canon. They were selected with a view to being honoured in several places and all over the country, regardless of their place of birth or place of work.
• The database: A local tool and reference work The database contains 2,923 women's biographies in a single search module. The module gives municipal politicians, urban planners and members of the public interested in history the opportunity to conduct searches relevant to individual municipalities in Denmark or within different business areas.

Explore the database: kvindebiografi.aau.dk 

Additional contact:

Members of the committee:

• Poul Duedahl, Committee Chair, Professor of History, Aalborg University,  duedahl@society.aau.dk, +45 30 89 16 57
• Julie Rokkjær Birch, Director, Den Gamle By i Aarhus, jrb@dengamleby.dk, +45 61 61 66 67
• Sara Alfort, author and literary historian, sara.alfort@gmail.com, + 45 53 57 84 04
• Søren Leth, architect and studio director, sl@sleth.dk,  +45 27 11 19 90

Press Contact:

• Simon Danneskiold-Samsøe, Journalist and Press Advisor, Aalborg University, ssd@adm.aau.dk, +45 31 15 75 33