| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Helsingør, Denmark |
| Criteria | Cultural: iv |
| Reference | 696 |
| Inscription | 2000 (24thSession) |
| Website | en.kronborg.dk |
| Coordinates | 56°2′20″N12°37′15″E / 56.03889°N 12.62083°E /56.03889; 12.62083 |
  Location in Denmark | |
Kronborg is acastle and historicalstronghold in the town ofHelsingør,Denmark. Immortalised asElsinore inWilliam Shakespeare's playHamlet, Kronborg is one of the most importantRenaissance castles inNorthern Europe. It was inscribed on theUNESCOWorld Heritage List in 2000.[1]
The castle is situated on the extreme northeastern tip of the island ofZealand at the narrowest point of theØresund, 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 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining acoastal fortification at this location commanding one of the few outlets of theBaltic Sea.
The castle's story dates back to a stronghold,Krogen, built byKing Eric VII in the 1420s. Along with the fortressKärnan inHelsingborg, 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 theFlemingsHans Hendrik van Paesschen andAnthonis van Obbergen. The sculptural work was coordinated byGert van Groningen.
In 1629, a fire destroyed much of the castle, butKing 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 aswar booty.
In 1785 the castle ceased to be a royal residence and was converted into barracks for theArmy. The Army left the castle in 1923. After a thorough renovation, the complex was opened to the public.
The castle's history dates to a fortress,Krogen (lit. 'the Hook'), built in the early 15th century by theDanish king,Eric of Pomerania. The king insisted on payment ofsound dues by all ships wishing to enter or leave theBaltic Sea through theØresund; to help enforce his demands, he built a powerful fortress at the narrowest point in the Sound. At the time, theKingdom of Denmark extended across both sides of the Sound. On the eastern shore theHelsingborg 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 onØrekrog, a sandy tongue of land stretching into the sea from the coast ofZealand toward the coast ofScania. The castle consisted of a squarecurtain wall with a number of stone buildings inside. The stone building in the northeastern corner contained the king'sresidence. The building in the southwestern corner contained a large archedbanquet hall. The building in the southeastern corner possibly served as thechapel. Large portions of the walls of Krogen are contained within the present-day Kronborg Castle.[2]
King Christian III had the corners of the curtain wall supplemented withbastions in 1558–1559.
As a consequence of developments in the military technique of the era and the improved striking power of theartillery, it became clear that it was necessary to modernize the fortifications of Krogen. After the conclusion of theNorthern Seven Years' War in 1570,King Frederick II initiated an extension of the advanced bastions to relieve the medievalcurtain wall. The main architect was theFlemish architectHans Hendrik van Paesschen and the fortification works were completed in 1577. After this, the castle acquired its current name ofKronborg (lit. 'Crown Castle').
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 herladies-in-waiting as well as for thechancellery. 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.[3]
Initially, the castle was reconstructed only to a height of two storeys. In 1578, however, the Flemish architectAnthonis van Obbergen was engaged as newmaster builder and work was undertaken to make Kronborg even larger and more magnificent. The sculptural work was coordinated byGert van Groningen.[4][5] 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 withsandstone fromScania, and the new castle was given a roof withcopper sheeting.
James VI of Scotland stayed in the castle in 1590 after his marriage toAnne of Denmark. James gave 2,000Danish dalers in gold coins to the officers and servants in the castle as a reward.[6]
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 thearchitectHans 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 inBaroque style.
During theDano-Swedish war of 1658–1660, Kronborg was besieged, attacked and conquered by a Swedish army commanded byCarl Gustaf Wrangel. During the Swedish occupation, the queen of Sweden,Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp and the Swedish king's sisterMaria Eufrosyne of Pfalz lived at Kronborg, where they were visited by Charles X of Sweden during the campaign and entertained the foreign ambassadors.[7]
As a result of the Swedish occupation, Kronborg was deprived of many of its most precious art works, including the richly decoratedfountain in the castle courtyard, Frederick II'scanopy and a number of the large ceiling paintings commissioned by Christian IV for the ballroom.
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.[8]
From 1739 until the 20th century, Kronborg was used as aprison. 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 ofQueen Caroline Mathilde, sister ofKing George III, following the scandal of her affair withJohann 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.
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, calledSound 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.[9] TheRoyal Danish Army left the castle in 1923, and after a thorough renovation it was opened to the public in 1938.
Kronborg Castle is located on the extreme northeastern tip of the island ofZealand, to the northeast of the historic centre of the town ofHelsingør. It is situated at an elevation of 12 metres,[10] on a smallforeland jutting out into the narrowest point of theØresund, the sound between the Danish island of Zealand and the Swedishprovince ofScania, that was also Danish until 1658. The approach from the town is to the east, with a series ofmoats andgates protecting the route from the town to the castle itself.
The royal apartments are located on the first floor of the north wing. The apartments were originally furnished byFrederick II around 1576, but after the fire in 1629, Christian IV had the apartments refurnished and richly decorated with ceilingpaintings, stoneportals andchimneypieces. The original floors weretiled in black and white which were replaced with woodenfloorboards in 1760–61, and the walls were clad ingilt-leather. Today the chambers are furnished withNetherlandish furniture from the 17th century.
The King's Chamber has abay 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.
Measuring 62 x 12 metres, the Ballroom was the largest hall inNorthern 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 ofRosenborg Castle inCopenhagen. The paintings in the Ballroom include:[11]Children off to School byFrancis Cleyn,Feminine Pursuits byReinhold Timm,Riding at the Ring byReinhold Timm,A Boys School byFrancis Cleyn,A Wedding in a Church byFrancis Cleyn,An Academy for Noblemen byReinhold Timm,A Banquet (1622) byIsaac Isaacsz [da].The present floor and the fireplaces are from the rebuilding in 1924–38.
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 includeTapestry depicting Oluf (1376–1387) andTapestry depicting Knud VI (1182–1202).[11] The tapestries were commissioned by Frederick II around 1580. Seven more tapestries are at theNational Museum of Denmark, while the rest have been lost.
Thechapel 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 asarmy barracks, the chapel was fitted out as agymnasium andfencing hall and the furniture stored away. The chapel was refurnished with the original furniture in 1838 and reinaugurated in 1843.
Rendered as "Elsinore," actually the anglicised name of the surrounding town ofHelsingør, Kronborg serves as the setting ofWilliam Shakespeare's tragedyHamlet, Prince of Denmark. 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 playHamlet at the castle includeLaurence Olivier,John Gielgud,Christopher Plummer,Derek Jacobi,David Tennant, and in 2009Jude Law.[12] In 2017, Hamletscenen presented a production ofHamlet at Kronborg, directed by Lars Romann Engel; the role of Hamlet was played byCyron Melville and music for the production was composed byMike Sheridan.[13]
According to a legend linked to Arthurian myth, a Danish king known asOgier the Dane (Danish:Holger Danske), was taken toAvalon by theenchantressMorgan 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 castlecasemates.[14]
Kulturhavn Kronborg is an initiative of 2013 to offer a variety of culture experiences to residents and visitors toHelsingør.Kulturhavn Kronborg is a joint initiative by Kronborg Castle,Danish Maritime Museum,Kulturværftet and Helsingør harbour.[15]
The castle was the setting of the televised holiday seriesJul på Kronborg (English:Christmas at Kronborg), which featured both Hamlet and Holger the Dane. 'Elsinore Beer' is named for the castle in the 1983 comedyStrange Brew, starringRick Moranis andDave Thomas.
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| National | |
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