A Very Brief History of DGI

DGI is a sports and cultural organisation with about 1.3 million members in Denmark, and including - for historical reasons - some 12,000 members on the German side of the common border.

The organisation has roots back as far as 1861 where events in Denmark and other parts of Europe, particularly the volatile international climate, led to the formation of shooting associations with the ultimate goal of defending the nation. Later the associations adopted other sports: gymnastics, football etc.

On 31 October 1992 - after a century of frequent mergers and divisions of the national sports associations - two old sports associations merged, forming the modern-day DGI. Since neither of the existing national offices could hold the administration of the new joint organisation, DGI built its new headquarters at Vingsted, opened in December 1993.