Kronborg () is a castle and historical stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.
The castle is situated on the extreme northeastern tip of the island of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between present Denmark and the provinces of present Sweden. The latter were under Danish control at the time the castle was built. In this part, the sound is only wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a coastal fortification at this location commanding one of the few outlets of the Baltic Sea.
The castle's story dates back to a stronghold, Krogen, built by King Eric VII in the 1420s. Along with the fortress Kärnan in Helsingborg, on the opposite coast of Øresund, it controlled the entrance to the Baltic Sea. From 1574 to 1585, King Frederick II had the medieval fortress radically transformed into a magnificent Renaissance castle. The main architects were the Flanders Hans Hendrik van Paesschen and Anthonis van Obbergen. The sculptural work was coordinated by Gert van Groningen.
In 1629, a fire destroyed much of the castle, but King Christian IV subsequently had it rebuilt. The castle has a church within its walls. In 1658, Kronborg was besieged and captured by the Swedes, who took many of its valuable art treasures as war booty.
In 1785 the castle ceased to be a royal residence and was converted into barracks for the Army. The Army left the castle in 1923. After a thorough renovation, the complex was opened to the public.
History
Krogen
The castle's history dates to a fortress,
Krogen (lit. 'the Hook'), built in the early 15th century by the Danish king, Eric of Pomerania. The king insisted on payment of
Sound Dues by all ships wishing to enter or leave the
Baltic Sea through the Øresund; to help enforce his demands, he built a powerful fortress at the narrowest point in the Sound. At the time, the Kingdom of Denmark extended across both sides of the Sound. On the eastern shore the Helsingborg Castle had been operating since the Middle Ages. With the two castles and guard ship, Denmark could control all navigation through the Sound.
The castle was built on Ørekrog, a sandy tongue of land stretching into the sea from the coast of Zealand toward the coast of Scania. The castle consisted of a square curtain wall with a number of stone buildings inside. The stone building in the northeastern corner contained the king's Dwelling. The building in the southwestern corner contained a large arched banquet hall. The building in the southeastern corner possibly served as the chapel. Large portions of the walls of Krogen are contained within the present-day Kronborg Castle.
King Christian III had the corners of the curtain wall supplemented with in 1558–1559.
Frederick II's Kronborg
As a consequence of developments in the military technique of the era and the improved striking power of the
artillery, it became clear that it was necessary to modernize the fortifications of Krogen. After the conclusion of the Northern Seven Years' War in 1570, King Frederick II initiated an extension of the advanced bastions to relieve the medieval curtain wall. The main architect was the
Flanders architect Hans Hendrik van Paesschen and the fortification works were completed in 1577. After this, the castle acquired its current name of
Kronborg ().
The castle itself was rebuilt from 1574 to 1585, with the separated buildings of Krogen being extended to three coherent wings. The north wing was equipped with chambers for the king, queen and her lady-in-waiting as well as for the chancellor. In the south wing, the medieval building in the southeast corner was refitted as a modern chapel with the vaulted windows facing the chapel being retained. Frederick was a keen patron of theatre and players performed at the castle when he held court there in 1579.
Initially, the castle was reconstructed only to a height of two storeys. In 1578, however, the Flemish architect Anthonis van Obbergen was engaged as new master builder and work was undertaken to make Kronborg even larger and more magnificent. The sculptural work was coordinated by Gert van Groningen.[ "Kronborg", Den Store Danske. Retrieved 1 February 2012.][ "Gert van Groningen", Dansk Biografish Leksikon, Den Store Danske. Retrieved 1 February 2012.] As a sign of the new ambitions, the south wing was heightened by one storey and a new, gigantic ball room placed over the chapel. Soon after the west and north wings were also heightened by one storey. Finally, the east wing was also heightened with a passageway, The Queen's Gallery, allowing the Queen comfortable passage from her chambers in the north wing to the ball room in the south wing. The exterior walls were clad with sandstone from Scania, and the new castle was given a roof with copper sheeting.
James VI of Scotland stayed in the castle in 1590 after his marriage to Anne of Denmark. James gave 2,000 Danish rigsdaler in gold coins to the officers and servants in the castle as a reward.[Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, 'James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts, 1588-1596', Scottish History Society, Miscellany XVI (Woodbridge, 2020), pp. 38-9.]
Fire of 1629
In 1629, a moment's carelessness by two workmen caused much of the castle to go up in flames in the night between the 24 and 25 September. Only the chapel was spared by the strength of its arches. King Christian IV put great efforts into restoring the castle. Already in 1631, the work was underway, led by the
architect Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger. By 1639, the exterior — which in keeping with the king's wish was reconstructed without major changes — was once again magnificent, but the interior never fully regained its former glory. Furthermore, certain modernizations were made, and portals, chimneypieces, ceiling paintings and other decorations were renewed in
Baroque style.
Swedish conquest of 1658
During the Dano-Swedish war of 1658–1660, Kronborg was besieged, attacked and conquered by a Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Wrangel. During the Swedish occupation, the queen of Sweden, Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp and the Swedish king's sister Maria Eufrosyne of Pfalz lived at Kronborg, where they were visited by Charles X of Sweden during the campaign and entertained the foreign ambassadors.
[Lundh-Eriksson, Nanna (1947). Hedvig Eleonora (in Swedish). Wahlström & Widstrand.]
As a result of the Swedish occupation, Kronborg was deprived of many of its most precious art works, including the richly decorated fountain in the castle courtyard, Frederick II's baldachin and a number of the large ceiling paintings commissioned by Christian IV for the ballroom.
Garrison fortress
The Swedish conquest of Kronborg in 1658 demonstrated that the castle was far from impregnable. Afterwards, the defences were strengthened significantly. From 1688 to 1690, an advanced line of defence was added called the Crownwork. Shortly afterwards, a new series of ramparts were built around it. After their completion, Kronborg was considered the strongest fortress in Europe.
From 1739 until the 20th century, Kronborg was used as a prison. The inmates were guarded by the soldiers billeted in the castle. The convicts had been sentenced to work on the castle's fortifications. The convicts were divided into two categories: those with minor sentences were categorised as "honest" and were allowed to work outside the castle walls; those serving sentences for violence, murder, arson or the like were categorised as "dishonest" and had to serve the full sentence doing hard physical labour inside the castle ramparts. Otherwise, they served their time under the same conditions: they all had to wear chains and spend nights in cold and damp dungeons. From January 17, 1772, to April 30, 1772, Kronborg was the place of imprisonment of Queen Caroline Mathilde, sister of King George III, following the scandal of her affair with Johann Friedrich Struensee.
As Kronborg's importance as a royal castle diminished, the armed forces came to play a greater role. From 1785 to 1922, the castle was completely under military administration. During this period, a number of renovations were completed.
Sound Dues and recent history
The captain of every ship sailing through the strait had to state the value of ship's cargo. Money that had to be paid to the King of Denmark, called
Sound Dues, was then calculated depending on the value of the cargo. The king had the right to buy the cargo for the price the ship's captain stated. This policy prevented captains from stating prices that were too low.
The Royal Danish Army left the castle in 1923, and after a thorough renovation it was opened to the public in 1938.
Kronborg today
Kronborg Castle is located on the extreme northeastern tip of the island of Zealand, to the northeast of the historic centre of the town of Helsingør. It is situated at an elevation of 12 metres,
on a small
Headland jutting out into the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between the Danish island of Zealand and the Swedish province of
Scania, that was also Danish until 1658. The approach from the town is to the east, with a series of
and
protecting the route from the town to the castle itself.
Royal apartments
The royal apartments are located on the first floor of the north wing. The apartments were originally furnished by Frederick II around 1576, but after the fire in 1629, Christian IV had the apartments refurnished and richly decorated with ceiling
, stone portals and
. The original floors were
in black and white which were replaced with wooden
floorboards in 1760–61, and the walls were clad in gilt-leather. Today the chambers are furnished with
Netherlands furniture from the 17th century.
The King's Chamber has a bay window, located right above the castle's main portal, from which the king could keep an eye on guests arriving at the castle, whereas the Queen's Chamber has access to a vaulted tower chamber overlooking the Flag Bastion.
Ballroom
Measuring 62 x 12 metres, the Ballroom was the largest hall in
Northern Europe when it was completed in 1582. The walls are hung with a series of large paintings which were originally made from 1618 to 1631 for the Great Hall of
Rosenborg Castle in
Copenhagen. The paintings in the Ballroom include:
by
Francis Cleyn,
Feminine Pursuits by
Reinhold Timm,
Riding at the Ring by
Reinhold Timm,
A Boys School by
Francis Cleyn,
A Wedding in a Church by
Francis Cleyn,
An Academy for Noblemen by
Reinhold Timm,
A Banquet (1622) by .
The present floor and the fireplaces are from the rebuilding in 1924–38.
Little Hall
The walls of the Little Hall are furnished with seven tapestries originally from a series of forty tapestries portraying one hundred Danish kings. The masterpieces include
Tapestry depicting Oluf (1376–1387) and
Tapestry depicting Knud VI (1182–1202).
The tapestries were commissioned by Frederick II around 1580. Seven more tapestries are at the National Museum of Denmark, while the rest have been lost.
Chapel
The
chapel is located in the ground floor of the south wing and was inaugurated in 1582. In 1785, as the castle was being fitted for use as
army barracks, the chapel was fitted out as a
and
fencing hall and the furniture stored away. The chapel was refurnished with the original furniture in 1838 and reinaugurated in 1843.
Cultural significance
Hamlet
Rendered as "Elsinore," actually the anglicised name of the surrounding town of Helsingør, Kronborg serves as the setting of William Shakespeare's tragedy
Hamlet. The play has been performed at the castle several times.
Hamlet was first staged at Kronborg in 1816, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Shakespeare's death; it was performed by soldiers from the castle garrison, and staged in the telegraph tower in the castle's southwest corner. The play has since been performed several times in the courtyard and at various locations on the fortifications. Later performers to play Prince Hamlet at the castle include Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Christopher Plummer, Derek Jacobi, David Tennant, and in 2009 Jude Law.
Ogier the Dane
According to a legend linked to Arthurian myth, a Danish king known as Ogier the Dane (Danish:
Holger Danske), was taken to
Avalon by the enchantress Morgan le Fay. Ogier returned to rescue France from danger, then travelled to Kronborg castle, where he sleeps until he is needed to save his homeland. His beard has grown to extend along the ground. A statue of the sleeping Ogier (right) has been placed in the castle
.
[The article Holger Danske in Nordisk familjebok (1909).]
Culture Harbour Kronborg
Kulturhavn Kronborg is an initiative of 2013 to offer a variety of culture experiences to residents and visitors to Helsingør. Kulturhavn Kronborg is a joint initiative by Kronborg Castle, Danish Maritime Museum, Kulturværftet and Helsingør harbour.
[ Culture Harbour Kronborg ]
Other
The castle was the setting of the televised holiday series
Jul på Kronborg (), which featured both Hamlet and Holger the Dane. 'Elsinore Beer' is named for the castle in the 1983 comedy
Strange Brew, starring
Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas.
See also
-
Kronborg Glacier
-
List of castles and palaces in Denmark
-
Tourism in Denmark
-
Kronborg Tapestries
- Notes
- Bibliography
External links
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