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

Kronborg Castle is located in Denmark near the city called Helsingør, which is located in the north-east of Zealand. The strait between Sweden and Denmark here has a width of 4 km, which caused the important strategic and military significance of this point for a long period of time.

Description

Kronborg Castle (Denmark) was included in the UNESCO heritage in November 2000. It was named one of the most significant architectural structures that were built during the Renaissance in the north of Europe.

Previously, there was a fortress called Krogen, built in the 1420s. King Eric Pomeranian. This was a rather important step in the life of the state. Here, duties were collected from ships that left the Baltic Sea, thereby replenishing the treasury.

At first there were only a few buildings and the wall surrounding them, far from today's grandeur of the architectural complex. Castle Kronborg began to be called this way in 1585-m. Just then Frederick II, acting at that time, the monarch, engaged in the restructuring of buildings, giving them great majesty, favorably allocated the building against the background of other architectural objects of the time.

Restoration of 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 whole. With the purpose of updating and giving the castle the former strength, restoration works were carried out, which ended in 1639. Supervised by the then acting at the time, King Christian IV, however, the reconstruction of the interiors and failed to produce with perfect accuracy.

In 1658, Kronborg Castle was attacked by Swedes, whose leader was Gustav Wrangel. As a result, he still returned to the number of possessions of Denmark. When this happened, the authorities began to strengthen the approaches to prevent the repetition of such a situation and reliably retain power over the territory in their hands. In 1688-1691 years. Here crownworks were built.

Since 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. Castle Kronborg, in addition to performing defensive functions, was also a prison. The prisoners were guarded by soldiers serving in the garrison. The criminals worked on the fortification.

Those who were convicted of minor flaws were allowed to work outside the walls of the fortress. Today every tourist can descend into the casemates of the castle to get acquainted with its underground situation. Carolina-Matilda, sister of George III, was imprisoned here. Her conclusion lasted three months.

Importance

In the period 1785-1924. Here the military of Denmark ruled. Although they could still be found here until 1991, when the disbandment of the Elsinsky garrison took place, which functioned since 1452.

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

Since 1915 the Museum of the Navigation of Denmark has functioned. There is a large range of data on the history of the country's fleet from the Renaissance 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, was present at the inauguration of the project.

House of the Danish Prince

An interesting fact is that this place is also called Hamlet Castle. Kronborg received this name, because in his play Shakespeare described the events against the background of this particular place. When the 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 the 200th anniversary of the death of the master of drama. The roles of the heroes then were tried on by soldiers serving in the garrison.

Since then, such events have become regular. Here there are statues depicting Ophelia and Hamlet. After all, according to the plan of Shakespeare, it was here that the great tragedy of their love and betrayal of the people around them unfolded. Reading all the famous play, everyone tries to imagine the events described in it, most vividly. Once in Kronborg, a person gets the opportunity to come in contact with the described situation and atmosphere as tightly as possible.

Visiting time

An extremely interesting and recommended place to visit is Kronborg Castle. The mode of operation of this complex is different at different times of the year. So, from June to August, you can walk from 10:00 to 17:30, and from September to May - from 11:00 to 16:00. In the period from November to April, work is conducted on all days, except Monday, and in the remaining months - every day.

The pleasant news is that you can enter the territory for free. To visit museums, you must pay a minimum of 35 CZK. It all depends on what kind of exposition you want to visit. The testimonies of the people who have visited here show that very good and attentive guides, true experts in their field work with people.

Way

Once in Denmark, you will probably 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 take you to the Copenhagen train station. It's worth going to Elsinore.

The departure interval is once every 20 minutes. The journey will take about 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, as a rule, lasts no longer than 15 minutes.

It's worth to visit here

In time, Kronborg Castle did not lose its grandeur. Photos show the scale of construction. This place is really worthy to fulfill the role of the residence of kings. The monarchy couple is now coming to these walls for celebrations on important occasions. Here they celebrated the anniversary of their wedding and many other events.

Of course, the style of this architecture inspires a bit of mysticism and superstitious fear. Therefore, there are legends about ghosts, still roaming in the local walls. This is one of the factors causing a keen interest of tourists. Excursions are really fascinating and full of valuable information.

Walking around the castle and dungeons takes people into an environment completely uncharacteristic of their daily lives. This is a completely different world, a corner of the past that has not been drowned in the sands. This place is favorably different from all other architectural structures of the same era due to its scale, fundamentality and beauty.