Kronborg Castle,
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Denmark
Kronborg CastleVisited: March 2003 More pictures of Kronborg Castle:
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It is a 40-minute train ride from Copenhagen to Helsingør (Elsinore) the eastern tip of the country. From here, you can take a boat to the other side of the sea strait, in Sweden, or visit Kronborg castle. Its location is not only strategical, but also fairy-tale like. Surrounded by the sea on one side and mounds and defensive walls on other sides, it sticks out of the landscape in a statement of defiance. It actually is a historically and nationally important monument to the Danes. In its cellars hides the stone sculpture of Holger the Dane, seemingly asleep, but according to legend he will wake up whenever Denmark should be threatened and will protect the country.
The first fortifications were built in the 15th century, but the castle as it is now came into being in the second half of the 16th century. It was as much a castle to show off Frederik II's wealth as it was a castle in the true sense of the word. When the castle was almost completely destroyed in the early 17th century, it was rebuilt as it was before. Thereafter, it saw several attacks, demolition, but it was always restored as it was before. In the 18th century, it was transformed into army barracks, but when the army left in the 20th century, it was again restored to the palace as it had been in the days of Frederik II and Christian IV.
While you can walk almost all around the castle, its defensive walls and mounds, you can also go inside and marvel at the richness of kings ages ago. There are rooms with paintings, the dining room with an example of a menu as it was probably served in the king's time, a huge ballroom, bedrooms, and a chapel. So this is where Shakespeare portrayed Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Actually, there are still performances at this original setting, but it was also used at a European Union summit during Denmark's presidency of the Union in 2002.
