Shakespeare's inspiration

This past weekend, I visited Kronborg Castle, which is the castle where Shakespeare's Hamlet takes place. In the play, the city is named Elsinore. The actual city is called Helsingør, which is pronounced nearly the same way. Shakespeare was just THAT creative.






The town of Helsingør is about a 45-minute train ride away from Copenhagen, and is an absolutely adorable little harbor town. They even have their own interpretation of the Little Mermaid statue. Except it's in blindingly shiny chrome. And it's a man. Oh, also, it's not a mermaid. But from a distance, it looks similar.

Helsingør town square

 









The castle is (of course) surrounded by a moat. Also, hobbit holes. It is surrounded by hobbit holes along the ocean. It doesn't get any better than that.

OK, they aren't actually hobbit holes. They just look super neat. I'm pretty sure they were used for military and defense.

The castle itself is stunning, very Renaissance. I can see why Shakespeare was inspired.

Right next to the entrance through the castle walls is a carved portrait of Shakespeare.

Inside the castle, can the see the king's and queen's chambers, which were separate despite their marriage being a happy one. It was a sign of class to be able to sleep separately because it meant you were rich enough to keep your room so warm that you did not need another's body hear.

The king also had a large collection of tapestries, including this large one on the left that stretched behind and over his seat at the table. It is full of symbolism showing how to be a good ruler and also had the coat of arms for Denmark. The king also included the coat of arms of Sweden as a way of proclaiming his rule over it (despite the fact that he did not, in fact, rule it).

I personally liked this one, rhinos are cute

Ogier the Dane

We also went down into the castmates, which are these catacomb-like tunnels and rooms that stretch 2-stories below the castle. They were dark, dank, and insanely cool. There was a statue of Ogier the Dane, a giant who is said to be sleeping below the castle until the need to defend it awakens him.

The castle also had an absolutely gorgeous church with an interesting little doorknob.

Overall, it was a fantastic way to spend the first half of my day, and it's a stop that I suggest to anyone swinging through Denmark, especially Shakespeare fans.

Quick bonus: The gift shop really loved puns, and I appreciated this one.