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Discover Kronborg

Discover Kronborg

RENAISSANCE AND THE CASTLE 11 WURTTEMBERG’S THE CASTLE THE GARRISON BUILDINGS: The castle building is the oldest and in- THE GALLERIES DISCOVER FORTRESS MAIN RAMPARTS 12 THE nermost part of the fortifications. The ring The last soldier left Kronborg Castle in THE FLAG 13 THE PORT OF ELSINORE wall of the original castle, Krogen, from 1991, and the old barracks buildings are KRONBORG A VISIT TO KRONBORG is a cultural experience of in- the 1420s, still exists beneath the sand- currently being refurbished. Today they MØRKEPORT’S RAVELIN ENTRANCE Kronborg Castle is ternational calibre. The contrast between the elegant royal inscribed on UNESCO’s stone façades to this very day. On the way down to the house artists’ demonstration workshops with shops, and castle and the military fortifications is clearly apparent. List of World Heritage Sites. THE COAST BATTERIES MAIN ENTRANCE FROM ELSINORE , you pass through the ring wall, which gives more. Further details at www.kronborggallerierne.dk. Discover the area on your own or join a guided tour. you a sense of its thickness. THE T TOILETS THE STONE MASONRY WORKSHOP THIS PAMPHLET presents some of the best experiences THE GARRISON BUILDINGS: THE KRONBORG GALLERIES P PARKING MAIN RAMPARTS The stone masonry workshop restores and at Kronborg, in an order which is natural for the visitor. Walking around the outside of the castle replaces Kronborg Castle’s structural details 8 THE STONE MASONRY WORKSHOP R RESTAURANT/CAFÉ H HANDICAP PARKING you can see the inner fortifications of on an ongoing basis. Outside the work- CHILDREN visiting Kronborg have lots of activities to earthworks and brick built up shop, you can often see which projects are 9 THE POWDER MAGAZINE S SHOP AND TICKETS I INFORMATION enjoy, especially during holiday seasons. Exhibitions of art against the castle walls in the 1570s. By currently being worked on by the stone masons. and history are frequently held at Kronborg. 10 THE CROWNWORK GATE L LUNCHBOX AREA K KIOSK (seasonal opening hours) then cannon had become so powerful that Krogen’s old ring wall could no longer repel an attack. THE POWDER MAGAZINE KRONBORG CASTLE’S unique settings can also be hired The Powder Magazine was built c. for i.e. conferences – even outside normal opening hours. THE FLAG BASTION 1726–1733 and was used for storing gun- COPYRIGHT PALACE AND PROPERTIES AGENCY 2008.

Kronborg Castle’s old cannon fire a salute powder. The Powder Magazine will be open © THE REGIONAL THEATRE “Hamletscenen” frequently P from the Flag Bastion on the royal family’s to the public from late 2008. invites troupes from and abroad to stage theatri- 12 anniversaries and birthdays and when the cal performances based on their interpretation of a Shake- 11 royal yacht Dannebrog passes. The bastion 10 THE CROWNWORK GATE K spearean work. Further details at www.hamletscenen.dk. is open from May to September, 10:30 - 16:00. The route to the Castle passes through the Crownwork Gate. The rooms which once THE PALACES AND PROPERTIES AGENCY is cur- L MØRKEPORT’S RAVELIN housed convicts performing forced labour rently implementing ambitious refurbishment and renova- This three-sided defensive structure pro- still exist inside the gate building. The tion projects and activities for the public at Kronborg Cas- T vides additional protection between the outstanding sandstone portal was re-carved in 2007. tle. Together with the foundation “Realdania” and Elsinore 10 two bastions beyond the corners of the P I R Municipality, the Agency has launched a major renovation 13 castle. From the ravelin, you can enjoy the 11 WURTTEMBERG’S RAVELIN project, which aims to strengthen the interaction of town view of Øresund and the coast of Sweden, in the distance. The Crownwork Gate is additionally and castle. reinforced by this island with protective THE COAST BATTERIES ramparts on the outer side. You can enjoy OPENING HOURS P The twelve coast batteries situated along a refreshment here in the summer. The castle: May–September: daily, 10:30–17. October and the coast were established around 1800. april: Tuesday–Sunday, 11–16. November–March: Tues- S From here cannon could fire on hostile 12 THE GLACIS day–Sunday, 11–15. The fortress is always open. T ships passing through Øresund. The beach The “glacis” is an artificial slope, with the 9 H at the coast batteries is a popular site for fishing. purpose of keeping attackers under fire for KRONBORG CASTLE ON THE WEB 8 as long as possible. Six hundred oak, elm Further details about Kronborg Castle – and a number of THE CROWNWORK and ash trees were planted on the glacis in other Danish and gardens – are available on the This great defensive feature extends in a 1821, and you can still see the trees today. website of the Danish Palaces and Properties Agency. You wide curve around the inner fortifications. can also see an interactive version of this pamphlet at: It was constructed in 1688–1691, after the 13 THE PORT OF ELSINORE Swedish capture of the castle in 1658 made Large sections of the Crownwork were CASTLE WWW.KRONBORGCASTLE.COM ØRESUND it clear that the previous fortifications were not strong demolished in the 1800s to make room for AND FORTRESS Kronborg Castle enough. It is called the Crownwork because it resembles a enlargements of Elsinore’s harbour. Today, Kronborg 2c crown when seen from above. It comprises bastions and Kronborg Castle’s surroundings are once DK-3000 Helsingør The Kronborg cover an curtain walls with situated in front of them. again being cared for through a major project. Tel. +45 49 21 30 78 KRONBORG FORTRESS area of roughly 190,000 square metres. [email protected] DRAWINGS ILLUSTRATIONSBUREAUET PHOTOS FINN CHRISTOFFERSEN, JON NORDSTRØM/STATION PALACES 1, AND PROPERTIES AGENCY A.O. PRINTER SALOPRINT ORIGINAL DESIGN KONTRAPUNKT MØRKEPORT (DARK GATE) 8 THE BALLROOM MØRKEPORT (DARK GATE) THE CHAPEL to the present. The Danish Palaces and Properties Agency PAST AND FUTURE The route into the castle passes through The chapel has a beautifully carved and is planning a new use for this part of the castle when the THE FOUR-GATE COURT 9 THE LITTLE HALL the winding Mørkeport gate. As you walk colourful interior for you to admire. The museum relocates in a few years. Further details about the KRONBORG CASTLE, ELSINORE, at the seaward THE CASTLE YARD 10 ALLEGORY OF THE SOUND through the gate, you can see down a long, chapel was consecrated in 1582 and, by museum at www.maritime-museum.dk. approach to the , is one of the most significant tunnel-like corridor. This once led from the contrast with the rest of the castle, was Renaissance castles in . It is also the most THE TRUMPETER’S TOWER 11 THE DANISH MARITIME MUSEUM original entry gate to the Four-Gate Court. not damaged by the fire of 1629. Therefore, you can sense 12 THE CASEMATES renowned castle in Denmark, made famous round the THE TELEGRAPH TOWER 12 THE CASEMATES here the brilliantly coloured magnificence that originally The gloomy casemates underneath Kron- world by Shakespeare’s “”. THE FOUR-GATE COURT characterised all of Kronborg Castle. borg Castle are open to the public. The THE CHAPEL 13 HOLGER THE DANE As you leave Mørkeport, you enter a small casemates are an underground network THE HISTORY OF KRONBORG is interesting and THE ROYAL CHAMBERS 14 PORTRAIT OF SHAKESPEARE forecourt before entering the Castle Yard THE ROYAL CHAMBERS of corridors and rooms on several levels dramatic and dates all the way back to the Middle Ages. proper. From the bay above the portal, The king and queen resided in the royal which served as soldier quarters during times of war. These Strong fortifications have been located here at the narrow- the king could an eye on arriving chambers whenever they were in residence dark, damp rooms could accommodate up to a thousand est part of Øresund for almost six centuries. From here the ENTRANCE visitors. The main gate leading into the castle is decorated at Kronborg Castle. The royal chambers men and enough provisions to withstand a six-week . king’s men could make sure that any ship which passed with a splendid portal. The portal’s recesses hold statues of were originally established during Frederik through the sound had to pay dues to the king. L LUNCHBOX ROOM Neptune and Mercury, gods of the sea and trading respec- II’s rebuilding of Krogen into Kronborg Castle, but had to 13 HOLGER THE DANE tively. The last two gates of the Four-Gate Court lead up be rebuilt by Christian IV after the fire of 1629. In the casemates you will also find the built the castle Krogen in 1425. an incline to the ramparts surrounding the castle. statue of Denmark’s legendary hero Holger In 1574–1585, Frederik II rebuilt Krogen into a magnifi- THE BALLROOM the Dane, who sits slumbering, ready to be cent Renaissance castle, which he named Kronborg. The THE CASTLE YARD The Ballroom was the largest royal hall stirred into action the instant the Danish Castle was devastated by a great fire in 1629, and Chris- N The Castle Yard took on its present appear- in Northern Europe (62 x 12 metres). The kingdom is threatened by an enemy. With electric torch tian IV, son of Frederik II, rebuilt the castle in the same ance when Frederik II rebuilt the medieval series of large on the walls were in hand, you can explore the associated exhibition and style. Kronborg Castle was bombarded and captured by castle Krogen into Kronborg Castle in originally made from 1618 to 1631 for the of Holger the Dane on your own. Swedish troops in 1658, and many of the castle’s works 1574–1585. The small Renaissance well Great Hall of ’s . of art were taken back to Sweden as spoils of war. From in the Castle Yard was erected in 1934. This was once the 14 PORTRAIT OF SHAKESPEARE 1785 to 1924, the castle’s rooms were used as military 9 site of a magnificent fountain from 1583, which was taken THE LITTLE HALL wrote his famous barracks. After this, the castle was refurbished and opened away by the Swedes after capturing the Castle in 1658. In this hall you will find seven tapestries “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Den- to the public in 1938. Kronborg Castle was inscribed on 11 8 L originally from a series of forty tapestries mark” c. 1600 and set the play at Kronborg UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites in 2000. THE TRUMPETER’S TOWER portraying one hundred Danish kings. The Castle. Although Hamlet is not a historical The impressive 62-metre high Trumpeter’s tapestries were commissioned by Frederik person, Shakespeare’s play made Kronborg Castle famous IN ADDITION TO SERVING AS A ROYAL CASTLE, 13 Tower is the tallest tower at Kronborg Cas- II around 1580. Seven more tapestries hang at the National round the world. Kronborg has been one of Denmark’s most important 10 12 tle. It is named after the trumpeters who Museum of Denmark, while the rest have been lost. fortresses over the ages. Krogen’s solid medieval ring wall previously sounded fanfares of warning is still concealed beneath Kronborg Castle’s sandstone from the tower’s gallery. The spire has been destroyed by 10 ALLEGORY OF THE SOUND façades. As guns and cannon gradually became more 14 fire and rebuilt twice. Isaac Isaacsz’s (1622) depicts powerful, the fortress was reinforced several times with Øresund as a voluptuous woman with a increasingly larger structural features of ramparts, bastions THE TELEGRAPH TOWER cornucopia. This is because Øresund was and . The castle lost its military significance in the The immense flat-roofed tower previ- one of the king’s most important sources 1800s, and large parts of the fortifications were demolished ously functioned as a cannon tower. It of income, as any ship that sailed through the Sound had to make room for the enlargement of Elsinore’s harbour. was originally Kronborg Castle’s tallest to pay dues to the king. The were collected tower, boasting dome and spire, but both until 1857. THESE DAYS, the fortress is being recreated and many The total floor space of the castle is structural features were destroyed by the Swedish bom- of the previous barrack buildings will have new uses. At roughly 16,000 square metres, including bardment in 1658. From 1801, the new flat roof was used 11 THE DANISH MARITIME MUSEUM HIRE FACILITIES AT KRONBORG CASTLE the same time, the abandoned shipyard area in front of the attics and basements. as an “optical telegraph” for sending signals to Copenha- The Danish Maritime Museum has been Frederik II’s old wine cellar, Eric of Pomerania’s Chamber fortress will be transformed into an interesting cultural gen - and even to South . From the roof you have housed at Kronborg Castle since 1915. and the largest ballroom in Northern Europe are superb set- area. The foundation ”Realdania”, Elsinore Municipality impressive views of Elsinore and Øresund. You can enter The many objects, paintings and photo- tings for conferences and other events outside the castle’s and the Palaces and Properties Agency are cooperating on a the top of the tower through the Danish Maritime Museum graphs on display at the museum depict normal opening hours. Interested? Please contact Kronborg major project, which aims to create a harmonious connection KRONBORG CASTLE from May to September. the history of Danish shipping from the Renaissance up Castle at +45 49 21 30 78 or [email protected]. between the castle, the shipyard area and Elsinore.

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