Kronborg Castle Everybody knows “Hamlet” written by William Shakespeare. The play takes place at Kronborg Castle Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, at the seaward approach to The Sound, is one of northern Europe's most important Renaissance castles. It is known all over the world from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, it is also the most famous castle in Denmark and is visited each year by about 200,000 tourists.
History Kronborg Castle was named after King Frederik II in 1577, but its history goes right back to the 1420s, when Erik of Pomerania built the strongly fortified castle known as "Krogen" ("The Hook"). From here the king’s men controlled the shipping in the Sound and collected the unpopular Sound Dues.
Frederik II's Kronborg In the years 1574 to 1585 Frederik II carried out the crucial renovation of the site. Over the outdated castle he built a magnificent Renaissance castle with towers and a spire, adorning it with columns and sculptures. He was influenced by the European princes, for whom wealth rather than military might had become the symbol of power.
The more recent history of the castle The Dano-Swedish wars in 1657-60 were very hard on Kronborg, which was bombarded and captured in September 1658. When the Swedes left the castle, they took a number of the ceiling paintings from the Ballroom, the fountain in the courtyard as well as the table canopy back to Sweden as spoils of war. The other fortifications were reinforced with a crownwork in the late 1600s. The interior of the north wing was renovated for Frederik V in 1760-63, but eventually the castle was no longer used as a royal residence. The military moved in, and Kronborg served as a barracks until 1924. Over a period of years up to 1935 the Renaissance castle was then restored under the management of J. Magdahl Nielsen, Royal Inspector of Listed State Buildings. Since that time the castle has been an exhibition site and a tourist destination.
Kronborg burns down But Kronborg had to live through several dramatic events. On the night of 25 September 1629 the castle was ravaged by fire and only the chapel survived. Christian IV rebuilt the castle, carrying out modernisations and extensive new decorations in the Baroque style. In September 1658 Kronborg was shelled and captured by the Swedes, who took many valuable art treasures as spoils, including a fantastic ornamental fountain from Frederik II's time. Made by: Mariah Simonsen and Camilla Hansen.