Kronborg is a castle and fortress in Elsinore. The castle is one
of Northern Europe's most significant Renaissance castles and in the
year 2000 was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The
castle is located at the extreme tip of Zealand, where the Sound is
smallest, a strategically important location that made it possible
to control the entrance to the Baltic Sea through the Sound.
Kronborg's history can be traced back to the fortress Krogen, which
was built by Erik of Pomerania in the 1420s. Together with
Helsingborg Castle on the other side of the Sound, the fortress was
able to control the entrance to the Baltic Sea and ensure the
collection of customs duties by the passing ships. From 1574 to
1585, Frederik II rebuilt the medieval castle into a magnificent
Renaissance castle. Large parts of the castle were destroyed by a
fire in 1629, but it was subsequently rebuilt by Christian 4. In
1658, Kronborg was besieged and conquered by a Swedish army, which
subsequently took a large part of the castle's artwork and interior
as booty. In 1785 the castle ceased to function as a royal residence
and was furnished as the barracks. The military left the castle
itself in 1923 and the castle's area in 1991. After a thorough
restoration, Kronborg was opened to the public in 1938.
The
Maritime Museum was housed at Kronborg from 1915 to 2012.
The hook
In the 1420s, the Danish king, Erik of
Pomerania, began to levy a special sound duty on the passing ships.
To support this collection, he had a strong fortress named Krogen
built on the site where Kronborg now stands. The fortress consisted
of a series of houses behind a square fortress wall that roughly
corresponded to the outer perimeter of the current castle.
Since the construction, the Krogen was expanded continuously, and
Christian III had plans for a major rebuilding of the castle, which
was not realized.
Frederik 2.s Kronborg
After his victory
over Sweden in the Nordic Seven Years' War in 1570, Frederik II
decided to completely rebuild the castle. The conversion to a new
Renaissance-style castle with four wings began in 1574, and was led
by the Dutch builders Anthonis van Obbergen and Hans van Paeschen,
who also created the fortress with four bastions. In 1577 the castle
got its new name, and in 1585 the new castle was completed. At first
glance, Kronborg appears as a completely newly built castle at that
time, but indoors there are many walls from Krogen's time, and in
several places there are dazzled window openings between two rooms,
steps that lead nowhere, etc.
That Kronborg was originally
planned for the three-wing can be seen in the width of the wings;
the east wing is somewhat narrower than the rest, and in fact
consists only of long galleries, creating an indoor connection
between the royal chambers of the north wing and the castle church
and dance hall of the south wing.
The new castle was equipped
with a sumptuous interior. To decorate the Dance Hall, a series of
high-quality tapestries was made, Kronborgtapeterne, which depicts
the Danish royal line from the legendary kings to Frederik 2. The
series originally contained a total of 43 tapestries, and was made
in Elsinore by convened Dutch weavers. Only 15 of these tapestries
have been preserved, of which 7 hang at Kronborg and 8 at the
National Museum in Copenhagen. They can be recognized by the fact
that the blue away in the lower left corner of each tapestry
contains a golden crown and a B as a mark for Kronborg.
The
fire in 1629
On the night of 24 September 1629, Kronborg burned
as a result of the carelessness of two craftsmen. Most of the
interior was destroyed by the fire, and only the castle church
survived relatively unscathed thanks to its solid vaulted ceilings.
The Kronborg wallpapers also escaped unharmed from the fire, as they
had not been hung in the Dance Hall when the castle burned down.
In the 1630s, Christian IV rebuilt Kronborg. In the exterior,
the castle was largely rebuilt in its original form, while in the
interior it was equipped with a new interior. Some parts of
Christian IV's interior, such as ceiling paintings, fireplaces and
carved doors, are still found at Kronborg today.
The Karl
Gustav Wars
During the Karl Gustav Wars, Kronborg was besieged
and occupied by Karl X. Gustav's troops in 1658. During the
subsequent occupation from 1658 to 1660, the castle was looted by
both German and Swedish soldiers, and the interiors of the castle
were subjected to great destruction. Sculptures, fountains and
paintings were stolen. An invaluable item among the stolen items was
King Frederik II's table canopy, a significant tapestry (a kind of
canopy) woven in wool and silk with gold and silver threads. The
Swedes did not use it because Frederik II and Queen Sophie of
Mecklenburg's coats of arms were woven in a conspicuous place as a
symbol of the king's power. Frederik II's table sky is normally
exhibited at the National Museum in Stockholm, but can be
experienced at Kronborg from 24 April 2012 and four years onwards.
Kronborg as a fortress
After the Karl Gustav Wars, Kronborg
never fully regained its importance as a royal castle, and was
increasingly used and expanded as a fortress.
In 1772, Queen
Caroline Mathilde was imprisoned at Kronborg after the fall of Johan
Friedrich Struensee, until she was picked up by an English warship
and sailed to the British possession of Hanover in Germany.
At the end of the 18th century, Kronborg was completely abandoned as
a royal residence, and the military was given premises in the former
royal chambers of the castle, which were now used as barracks.
With the abolition of the Øresund Customs in 1857 due to
pressure from the United States, Kronborg lost most of its military
significance. In 1924, the military left the castle building itself,
and in 1991, the military moved completely out of the castle
grounds.
Holger Danish
Holger Danske was a legendary Danish warrior and
knight in Charlemagne's army. According to legend, he sleeps in the
cellars under Kronborg, but wakes up to death and saves Denmark, should
the country be in danger.
In the casemates under Kronborg there
is a statue of Holger Danske made by H.P. Pedersen-Dan in 1907.
Hamlet
Shakespeare's play Hamlet is relegated to the castle of
Elsinore; the English name for Helsingør.
Other things
In
1915, the Trade and Maritime Museum opened with an exhibition in the
castle. The museum then shed light on Denmark's maritime history from
ancient times to the present day. Nowadays, the museum's focus is on
Danish merchant shipping from the Middle Ages to the present day. The
museum, which has since changed its name to Museet for Søfart, closed
its premises at Kronborg to prepare for the move to its new museum
building at the former Helsingør Værft, which is expected to open in
2013. Kronborg is part of Helsingør's ambitious project Kulturhavn
Kronborg together with the Kulturværftet, the Maritime Museum, and
Helsingør harbour.
The office of Kronborg's commandant was established in 1582 by King
Frederik II, who wanted to secure Denmark's power in Øresund, and needed
a military person to manage Kronborg's business and manage customs.
The commander was responsible for operation and maintenance of the
castle, and was at the same time the highest officer and civil servant
at the royal castle. He was responsible for recruiting soldiers in North
Zealand and ensuring the fortress' supply of weapons.
The king
himself appointed the commanders partly from his own family and partly
from the country's noble families.
An unfortunate commander was
Poul Beenfeldt (1612-1676), who surrendered the castle to the Swedes
during the Second Carl Gustav War after only three weeks of siege.
Beenfeldt fled to Lybeck, and the enraged King Frederik III had both him
and his second-in-command sentenced to death in absentia. General Hans
Schack interceded for him and he was allowed to return to the country,
but lost his commission as an officer.
Eskild Andersen 1582 –
1597
Christian Albrecht Rantzau 1597 – 1603
Oluf Ebbesen Lunge
1603 – 1614
Henrik Lykke 1614 – 1641
Hans Ulrik Gyldenløve 1641 –
1645
Holger Vind 1645 – 1652
Otto Skade 1652 – 1 August 1658
Poul Beenfeldt 1 August 1658 – 6 July 1660
Eiler Holck 6 July 1660 –
16 March 1672
Carl Henrich von der Osten 16 March 1672 – 1 June 1675
Ulrik von Dewitz 1 June 1675 – 25 February 1676
Barthold von Bülow 25
February 1676 – 3 April 1676
Conrad Wichmann 3 April 1676 – 2 May
1676
Carl Henrich von der Osten 2 May 1676 – 12 July 1677
Hartvig
Asche Schack 12 July 1677 – 10 October 1678
Johan Didrik Wetberg 10
October 1678 – 10 October 1679
Carl Henrich von der Osten 10 October
1679 – 18 November 1685
Jacob Geveke 18 November 1685 – 8 September
1694
Hans Erasmus von der Pfordten 8 September 1694 – 22 December
1712
Michael Christopher von Schnitter 22 December 1712 – 30 July
1725
Hans Philip Pretorius 30 July 1725 – 24 December 1732
Ditlev
Revenfeld 24 December 1732 – 10 November 1742
Johan Frederik
Brockenhuus 10 November 1742 – 2 February 1748
Gustav Grüner 2
February 1748 – 17 March 1759
Johan Georg Moltke 17 March 1759 – 16
January 1765
Andreas Hauch 16 January 1765 – 6 December 1780
Carl
Johan Christian von Bessel 6 December 1780 – 4 August 1788
François
Jacques Xavier d'Aubert 4 August 1788 – 27 December 1793
Ezechias
Hinrich Stricker 27 December 1793 – 16 May 1811
Hans Ulrich Moritz
von Scheel 16 May 1811 – 1 February 1829
Frederik Ohlrogge 1 February
1829 – 1 February 1839
Gustav Joachim Michaelsen 1 February 1839 – 30
December 1839
Harald Rothe 30 December 1839 – 16 November 1848
Louis Paul Renouard 1 February 1849 – 1 February 1856
Niels Christian
Lunding 1 February 1856 – 1 October 1867
Johan Ditlev Harvest 1
October 1867 – 21 April 1868
Julius Theodor Hein 21 April 1868 – ?
Johan Cornelius Krieger 18?? – 18??
Sophus Wilhelm Vandall Pfaff 1886
– 1891
Hans Walter Harbou 1906 – 1911