Team handball as we know it today developed in northern Europe by the end of the 1800s. It was especially popular in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany during this period, and Denmark is widely recognized as the birthplace of modern handball. The rules for modern handball was drawn up by Danish gym teacher Holger Nielsen in 1898 and published in 1906. Rasmus Nicolai, also a Danish teacher, drew up similar rules in 1897.