Organization and history

The Royal Danish Defence College is located in several places in the country. Most of the more than 400 employees are located at Svanemøllen's Barracks, while the other employees are located at Frederiksberg Castle, Varde, Frederikshavn and Karup.

The Royal Danish Defence College is divided into four branches: Staff Administration, Staff Support, Academies and the Faculty.

The three Royal Danish Military NCO Academies are located in Varde (Army), in Frederikshavn (Navy) and in Karup (Airforce). The three officer academies are the Royal Danish Military Academy, which is located at Frederiksberg Castle, and the Royal Danish Naval Academy and the Royal Danish Air Force Academy both of which are located at Svanemøllen's Barracks. The fourth officer education is the Royal Danish Language Academy, which is also located at Svanemøllen's Barracks.

Under the Faculty, the four institutes are located, in addition to the Section for Educational Strategy and Research Support: Institute for Military Operations, Institute for Strategy and War Studies, Institute for Leadership and Organization, and Institute for Military Technology.

The Royal Danish Defence College's organizational chart

History of the Royal Danish Defence College

The history of the Royal Danish Defence College dates back to 3 May 1830, when King Frederik VI founded the Den Kongelige Militaire Høiskole. On November 1, 1830, the education started at the school with 19 students. The officer education thus became a systematic education in higher leadership - that is, a managerial, military science education.

Since 1830, the school has admitted both army and naval officers and from 1951 officers in the Air Force. Den Kongelige Militaire Høiskole was housed in Gjethuset in 1830-67, which is today a music and culture house. In the period 1868-1951, the school formed part of the Royal Danish Military Academy at Frederiksberg Castle. In 1951, the school became an independent authority separate from the the Royal Danish Military Academy. The school was established under the name Forsvarsakademiet (Royal Danish Defence College), which was initially located at Frederiksberg Technical School on Falstervej, since 1958 at Østerbro Barracks and from July 1992 at Svanemøllens Barracks.

As part of the latest Defense Agreement 2018-2023, the non-commisioned officer schools became part of the Royal Danish Defence College. The officers' schools transferred from their branches to the Defence College at the Defense Agreement 2013-2017. The changes bring together the educational system for officers and sergeants and create a greater joint military focus.

The coat of arms of the Royal Danish Defence College signals the motto "Sapientia et providentia" (knowledge and foresight). On the coat of arms, the motto appears on a banner encircling an owl with two crossed marshal rods. The owl is on a red background, which is placed over an upward-facing sword with a royal crown and Frederik VI's crowned name features. Why an owl? The Defense Academy's logo depicts the Athene Noctua, in Danish formerly called Minerva-ugle, which means the owl of wisdom.