On the tail end of our trip we headed back to Copenhagen for a couple more days by way of the Øresund bridge which then plunges into the water and turns into a tunnel to reach the city from Malmö. We decided to head to directly to Helsingor, north of Copenhagen, to see Kronborg Slot. We had some time to kill before a 3pm check in.
The entrance which is surrounded by water and located near the Maritime museum.
Past the outer wall and ready to explore all the history it brings. It has existed since 1420 and even been burned down at one point, but rebuilt.
1st thing the boys ran to and wanted a pic.
Ohhhh! Scared of heights anyone? This is a door that they would use to bring items into the castle for storage or even the wood to build the framing. There was just a single bar to keep one from falling. That’s the courtyard below where there beautiful fountain no longer resides as the Swedish took it as spoils from war. Most of it was boiled down and used for other things but the sculpture supposedly resides in Stockholm.
Here are notches on one of the beams to communicate where it was going to be put, etc.
From the top of the cannon tower looking towards the city of Helsingør.
Wowee! Look how high we are. Don’t worry, the walls up top are a decent height so no worry of falling.
If you look across the sound you can see Helsingborg, Sweden over there. For about 300 years or so, ships passing into the Baltic sea had to pay a fee to Kronborg, but in 1857 it was abolished when the U.S. intervened and said no more. Apparently if someone didn’t pay, the castle would shoot cannons at them. If they then paid they would also be charged for the cost of weaponry to enforce said dues.
The secret door back down.
Another throne! Asher so dignified and Toren so comfortable.
I imagine this is how things went when there was a family portrait being done.
This is the Ballroom, 62m long and held many slamming, multi-day parties in its time. It’s said to be the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.
So, there was a massive fire that destroyed the castle along time ago in 1620? And the only thing that was left unharmed was the chapel, a Devine miracle. The guide joked that although Lutheran and it should be gray, simple, using natural building materials, this was the best a King could do to follow those ideals.
The wood is very beautifully carved and such colors too.
This is in the apartments of King Frederik II and Queen Sophie. Here I was learning the art of sending messages with a fan. Whoops! That’s not what I meant!
There were a few different stations with old furniture and such where you could pretend to be like the King sleeping in his bed, playing cards at the game table, or here.
A beautiful view of the sound from the apartments. Likely to keep tabs on all the ships coming through.
They got in trouble but I think they are remorseful.
Fighting over who gets to take the photo 1st, they BOTH win!
We are going to check out the casemates which I think ultimately meant dark living space.
What happened to the lights? This area is fairly dark and was used as soldiers quarters during war, but there is even a lower level that has no outside light and you could easily get turned around or lost down there. It was also used as dungeons by the Swedes according to the Danish. 350 men could be down here with 6 weeks of supplies.
Toren sneaking past Holger (Ogier) the Dane who is fast asleep. He is a giant who will come to his countrymens aid if they are threatened by grabbing his sword and defending Denmark. Good thing Toren was super quiet.
This is the castle that Shakespeare set Hamlet in his famous play from the 1500s. No one knows if Shakespeare ever visited Kronborg, but he was allegedly inspired by King Frederik’s impressive parties. In English, the name for Helsingor is Elsinore.