Kronborg Castle: history, photos, how to get there?

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Kronborg Castle is located in Denmark near the city called Helsingor, which is located in the northeast of Zealand. The strait between Sweden and Denmark here has a width of 4 km, which determined the important strategic and military importance of this point for a long period of time.

Description

Kronborg Castle (Denmark) was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in November 2000. It has been called one of the most significant architectural structures that were built during the Renaissance in northern Europe.

Earlier there was a fortress called Krogen, built in the 1420s. King Eric of Pomerania. It was quite an important step in the life of the state. Here duties were collected from ships that left the B altic Sea, thanks to which the treasury was replenished.

At first there were only a few buildings and the wall surrounding them, far from today's grandeur of the architectural complex. Kronborg Castle began to be called that way in 1585. Just then, Frederick II, the current monarch, began to rebuild the buildings, giving them great majesty, which favorably distinguished the building from the rest of the architectural objects of that time.

Restoring this building

In September 1629, there was a devastating fire that caused significant damage to many parts of the structure, after which only the chapel remained more or less intact. In order to update and give the castle its former strength, restoration work was carried out, which ended in 1639. They were led by the then acting King Christian IV, but the reconstruction of the interiors could not be done with perfect accuracy.

In 1658, Kronborg Castle was attacked by the Swedes, whose leader was Gustav Wrangel. As a result, he still returned to the number of possessions in Denmark. When this happened, the authorities began to strengthen the approaches in order to prevent a recurrence of such a situation and to securely hold power over the territory in their hands. In 1688-1691. a crownwork was built here.

From the 18th century, the king's family began to use this building less. In the period from 1739 to the second half of the 19th century. Kronborg Castle, in addition to performing defensive functions, was also a prison. The prisoners were guarded by soldiers who served in the garrison. The criminals were working on the fortification.

Those who were convicted of minor sins were allowed to work outside the walls of the fortress. Today, every tourist can go down into the casemates of the castle to get acquainted with its underground environment. Caroline Matilda, sister of George III, was imprisoned here. Her detention lasted three months.

Importance

In the period 1785-1924. Danish military ruled here. Although they could still be found here until1991, when the disbandment of the Elsinsky garrison took place, which had functioned since 1452.

Now this place serves as the tourist center of the state. Every year 200 thousand people come here. Tourists can get acquainted with the castle fortifications, underground casemates, a beautiful chapel. In 2010, the Powder House was opened, which is also quite interesting to visit.

Since 1915, the Maritime Museum of Denmark has been functioning. There is a wide range of data on the history of the country's fleet from the Renaissance period up to the present day. In 2013, the historical complex was moved to a specially prepared new building, which took the place of the former docks. Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark, attended the grand opening of the project.

House of the Danish Prince

An interesting fact is that this place is also called Hamlet's castle. Kronborg got this name because in his play Shakespeare described the events against the backdrop of this particular place. When a literary work gained popularity and it began to be staged in theaters, the actors played directly within the walls of this architectural structure. This happened in 1816. The event was timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the death of the master of drama. The roles of heroes were then tried on by soldiers serving in the garrison.

Since then, such events have become regular. There are statues depicting Ophelia and Hamlet. After all, according to Shakespeare's plan, it was here that the great tragedy of their love and betrayal of the people around them unfolded. Reading to everyonewell-known play, everyone tries to present the events described in it as vividly as possible. Once in Kronborg, a person gets the opportunity to get in touch with the described environment and atmosphere as closely as possible.

Visit time

Kronborg Castle is an extremely interesting and recommended place to visit. The mode of operation of this complex is different in different seasons. So, from June to August, you can walk along it from 10:00 to 17:30, and from September to May - from 11:00 to 16:00. From November to April, work is carried out on all days except Monday, and in the remaining months - daily.

The good news is that you can enter the territory for free. To visit the museums, you need to pay a minimum of 35 crowns. It all depends on what exhibitions you want to visit. Reviews of people who have been here testify that very good and attentive guides, true experts in their field, work with people.

The path

When you are in Denmark, you will definitely want to visit such a famous place as Kronborg Castle. How to get there? Motorists can use the coordinates N 56° 2.383' E 12° 37.332'. There is also a train that can be boarded at the train station in Copenhagen. It's worth going to Elsinore.

Departure interval - every 20 minutes. The journey will take approximately an hour. Finding yourself at the destination stop, you will need to move to the castle, which can already be seen from the station. Walking tour usually lasts no longer15 min.

You should definitely visit here

Kronborg Castle has not lost its grandeur over time. Photos show the scale of the building. This place is really worthy to play the role of the residence of kings. The royal couple still come to these walls to hold celebrations on important occasions. Here they celebrated their own wedding anniversary and many other events.

Of course, the style of this architecture instills a bit of mysticism and superstitious fear into the soul. Therefore, there are legends about ghosts still roaming in these walls. This is one of the factors causing keen interest of tourists. Excursions are really exciting and rich in valuable information.

Walking through the castle and dungeons takes people into an environment that is completely different from their everyday life. This is a completely different world, a corner of the past preserved and not drowned in the sands of time. This place compares favorably with all other architectural structures of the same era due to its scale, fundamentality and beauty.