Fotoeins Fotografie

Visiting Denmark in the summertime means there are many hours of daylight, providing more opportunities to explore. A daytrip train from Copenhagen north to Helsingør takes you through the Danish lowlands next to the sea, but the goal here is a visit to Kronborg Slot (Kronborg Castle).

Does the place, Helsingør, sound familiar?

How about the Anglicized version of the name – Elsinore?

Elsinore is the setting for one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, “Hamlet”.

Since its designation in 2000, Kronborg Slot (Kronborg Castle) in Helsingør, Denmark is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is commonly known as “Hamlet’s castle.”

Hamlet castle over the Øresund

The Øresund strait (known also as the Öresund or Sundet) is a narrow strip of water separating the Danish island of Sjælland (Zealand) from Scania in southern Sweden; only four kilometres separate Helsingør, Denmark from Helsingborg, Sweden. The Øresund has always been an important busy passage for shipping, and is one of three channels connecting the Baltic Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.

The “Krogen” was established at this spot in northeastern Denmark in the early 15th-century to guard the strait’s entrance, to control the sea lanes in and out of the “The Sound”, and to collect shipping tolls called “The Sound Dues”. After Krogen came Kronborg Slot with renovations, fire, sacking, and conversion to barracks, altering its shape and use since the 16th-century. The present-day restoration of Kronborg Castle reflects the Renaissance and baroque stylings from the 16th- and 17th-centuries.

Written in the 12th-century by Saxo Grammaticus, “Gesta danorum” (History of the Danes) contains the first reference to the character of “Amleth“. The name appears again in 1514 when Christiern Pedersen published a story based on the legend recorded within “Gesta danorum”. François de Belleforest wrote a French version in the 16th-century, and by 1590, English writer Thomas Kyd wrote his own version as drama complete with the elements of revenge.

It’s not clear whether Shakespeare ever visited Kronborg Slot, but actors from England from Shakespeare’s company toured Denmark in the 16th-century because of Helsingør’s importance as trading port. Based on visiting actors’ accounts and Kyd’s English version, Shakespeare wrote by 1601 the play “The Tragedy of Hamlet, prince of Denmark“, which honours Saxo Grammaticus’ prince Amleth.

Above on the castle ramparts under bright sunlight or below in the underground caverns in dim light, the spirit of Amleth lives on in the Gesta danorum. Who knows – you just might hear the whispers of a man in quiet soliloquy …

On the way into Kronborg Castle, you’ll go through the new Maritime Museum of Denmark (M/S Museet for Søfart) which opened in October 2013.

William Shakespeare, Tycho Brahe, Dame Judi Dench

The following is an interesting connection among Shakespeare, passage of centuries, and my physics education.

Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) made night-time observations of the sky, leading to Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) formulating his three laws of planetary motion, which in turn were described elegantly by Isaac Newton’s (1642–1727) universal law of gravity. I learned all about Brahe, Kepler, and Newton in various physics courses.

Brahe was directly related to the Rosenkrans and Gyldenstjern families, whose modified names, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, appear prominently in Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet.” Erik Rosenkrans (1427–1503) and Sophie Gyldenstjerne (-1477) were parents to Kristine Rosenkrans (-1509). The latter was grandmother of Beate Brahe (née Bille, 1526–1605), noblewoman and lady-in-waiting at Helsingør and who later give birth to son Tycho.

Dame Judi Dench is a renowned English actress on stage and screen. She learns one of her ancestors was Beate Brahe, and about the same time, stage troupes from England toured Denmark. One of the visitors included actor William Kempe (Will Kemp), who performed in several staged presentations of works written by a certain English playwright by the name of William Shakespeare. One of Judi Dench’s earliest stage performances was the portrayal of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet“. Tycho Brahe’s motto seems especially fitting: “Non haberi sed esse” (Not what seems, but what is). This 7-minute video excerpt with Dench is illuminating.

DSB Danish rail, Københavns Hovedbanegård (Copenhagen Main Station)

Helsingør, Sjælland (Elsinore, Zealand)

Helsingør.

Kronborg Slot, Helsingør, Sjælland (Kronborg Castle, Elsinore, Zealand)

Even Holger peers out from the advertising.

The front moat.

Entry arch.

Hamlet & Ophelia.

On the grounds.

Guns and the flag.

The grand dame.

Courtyard.

Down below in the casemates.

The solemn Holger Danske (Ogier the Dane).

Mood.

Grand hall.

The view across Øresund strait, from Denmark to Sweden on the other side.

The Kronborg fortress at Helsingør.

Directions

Frequent DSB trains run between Copenhagen’s central station (Københavns H) along Zealand’s east coast to Helsingør station (Helsingør st.) with a one-way trip lasting about 45 minutes. From Sweden, visitors from Helsingborg can take a passenger- and vehicle-ferry across the Øresund strait to Helsingør.

( View map location on OpenStreetMap )

I made all photos above on 30 June 2008 with a Canon EOS450D/Rebel XSi. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-w7. Last major edit: 20 Mar 2023.