Hamlet's Haunted Kronborg Castle
Day 5) Today, I will be taking you to the world famous Kronborg Castle, located in Helsingør, just 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Copenhagen. Kronborg Castle is particularly near and dear to my heart because I was fortunate enough to be married there. Kronborg Castle is probably best known as the inspiration for William Shakespeare’s play "Hamlet". The first performance of Hamlet at Kronborg was staged in 1937 and starred Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. The castle is also on UNESCO's World Heritage list and is considered to be one of northern Europe's most significant Renaissance castles. It is the most famous castle in Denmark and is visited each year by about 200,000 people.
Strategically located overlooking the Sound, the stretch of water between Denmark and Sweden, Kronborg is of immense symbolic value to the Danish people and played a key role in the history of northern Europe in the 16th-18th centuries. Work began on the construction of this exceptional castle in 1574, and its defences were reinforced in the late 17th century. It has remained intact to the present day. Visit the historical rooms, house collections of Renaissance and Baroque interiors, and one of the most breathtaking attractions, which is the 62-metre (203-foot) long ballroom. A statue of "Holger the Dane" – a fictional Danish hero - sits in the gloomy dungeons and was erected in 1907 at Kronborg.
In 2005 rumours started to circulate that the castle is haunted. Coincidentally, strange sightings and occurrences seemed to coincide with the opening of a restaurant called “Kronværket.” Some employees viewed windows and doors flying open and stacks of paper that were disappearing and reappearing elsewhere. Others even said that tables were setting themselves! Ghosts and eerie shadows were also witnessed. Although noone really has any idea why anyone would want to haunt the castle the spirits seem to be pretty harmless. So visit Kronborg Castle, if you dare…
Trains from Copenhagen run every 20 minutes to Helsingør and take about 45 minutes. It’s then a 15 minute walk to the castle from Helsingør station.
Kronborg Castle
Kronborg 2 c
DK-3000 Elsinore
Telephone: +45 4921 3078, fax: +45 4921 3052
E-mail: kronborg@ses.dk
kronborgcastle.com
kronborg.dk
Open: May to September 10.30 to 17.00
October through April they are closed on Monday and opened from 11.00
Admission: Adults 75 dkk, kids 6 to 14 15 dkk. Children under 6 free
P.S. I’ll be taking a break from my top 10 list for the next few days because tomorrow I’m going to the Brit Award nominee Paolo Nutini concert and on Friday I’m helping on a Danish tv series called “Sommer
