Karla & Dave's Ed May Sem 2012 Blog

May 26, 2012 Trip to Helsingor Castle

It's only a 45 minute train ride up the coast from Copenhagen to Helsingor, the site of Hamlet's castle. It's old, big, and very important in Danish history. We spent about two hours there and then spent the rest of the day drifting around Copenhagen.

The castle, also known as Kronborg Slot, seen from the town of Helsingor.

A fountain in Helsingor on the walk to the castle.

Outside the walls of the castle.

Moriah and Danielle.

A tourist shop and restaurant just outside the castle.

Olav, Dave Kairsten, Laura, Nicole, Moriah, Joni, Paige, Kristin, and Danielle/

The castle is at the tip of Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden, which is the entrance to the Baltic Sea. King Eric the VII (Eric the Pomeranian) build this fortress in 1420 to control access to the Baltic Sea - many merchant ships passed through for trade with all the countries along the Baltic. He charged one English gold coin for each ship. Eventually a Danish king decided to charge a percentage of the value of a ship's cargo for safe passage into the Baltic Sea. To ensure the ship's captain put a fair price on his cargo, the king proclaimed he could buy the ship's cargo at the captain's price if he so desired. This prevented the captains from low-balling their cargo's value and often resulted in them overestimating it's value to ensure the king would not buy it. Denmark became very wealthy. They also rid the Baltic of pirates in return for these fees. This continued until the mid 1800's when the United States convinced them to charge a single licensing fee for each ship. This view looks out from the castle to the sound. You can see Sweden across the water.

A pair of nesting swans in the castle moat (unfortunate about that trash in the moat)..

Some external renovation and upkeep on one of the towers.

Olav, Danielle, and Paige in the central courtyard waiting for the guided tour to start.

A statue of Mercury at an entrance to the castle.

A statue of Neptune across from Mercury. This statue, along with paintings of Neptune in the castle. symbolize the Danish Kings' command of the sea - I'm not sure what Mercury symbolizes.

An Asian tour group listening to their guide tell them about Hamlet. The story of Hamlet predates William Shakespeare, he just wrote it down as a play. In fact, the story of Hamlet is found in the folklore of many northern European nations. Danish royalty put on huge, week-long parties for other royalty and hired famous musicians and theater groups for entertainment. One of the theater groups Shakespeare was associated with during his early years put on several performances here. There is no proof the Bard was ever at Helsingor, but he surely would have known of this grand and elegant castle, so it is not surprising he chose this castle for his telling of the story of Hamlet.

Doorway between rooms in the castle.

This is the seal of King Christian IV. He was the longest reigning king of Denmark.

The pulpit in the castle chapel.

A pipe organ in the chapel.

In the dungeons below the castle is a statue of Holger Dansk, a Danish king linked to the Arthurian myth of England. Legend says he saved France from danger and then returned to Kronsborg Slot where he still sleeps, but he will rise up to save Denmark if he is ever needed. He did not arise during the World War II Nazi occupation of Denmark, but the Danish resistance took his name.