Kronborg slot
i
Helsingør er nordens stærkeste fæstning, kendt over hele verden fra Shakespeare's Hamlet,
Prins af Denmark - en stentavle ved slottets hovedindgang viser et
portræt af William
Shakespeare (1564-1616).
I 1420'erne byggede den danske konge Erik af Pommern en fæstning
kaldet Krogen - bygninger omsluttet af en ringmur. Kongen
introducerede Sundtolden - alle skibe der passerede Helsingør skulle
betale told til den danske krone.
I 1585, under kong Frederik d. 2.'s regeringsperiode, blev Krogen
omdøbt til Kronborg, og også den første af bastionerne, de
specielle trekantede fæstningsvolde, blev bygget. Hvis en eller
kaldte Kronborg ved det gamle navn Krogen, skulle vedkommende betale
en bøde for krænkelsen i form af en god okse.
I 1629 brændte borgen ned, kirken slap for flammerne. Under kong
Christian d. 4. blev borgen genopbygget og genindviet i 1639 -
Christian d. 4. byggede også mere moderne slotte fx Rosenborg
og Frederiksborg,
og Kronborg ophørte med at være kongeslot i 1600-tallet.
I 1658 blev det meste af Danmark besat af svenskerne, og København
var i fare for at lide den samme skæbne, de svenske tropper anså
kontrol med Kronborg som et afgørende skridt forud for at angribe
København. Efter tilbagetrækningen af de svenske tropper i 1660,
blev en fredstraktat underskrevet, tropperne efterlod Kronborg
udplyndret og ødelagt, herefter blev forsvarsværkerne styrket. Fra 1688-90
blev forsvarsværket Kronværket bygget (lignede en kongekrone
set oppefra, og uden om blev bygget en række af volde.
I 1772 var dronning Caroline Mathilde i husarrest på Kronborg
- hun blev gift meget ung med den psykiske syge kong Christian d. 7.,
kort tid efter brylluppet blev hun elskerinde for kongens livlæge Johann Friedrich
Struense (1737-1772). I 1772 blev Struense afsat ved et kup, og
dronningen blev arresteret som hans medskyldige og sendt til Kronborg,
hvor hun tilbragte det meste af tiden i tårnværelset ved siden af
dronningens soveværelse - efter fire måneder fik hun sin frihed og
tilladelse til at forlade Danmark.
Fra 1785-1923 var Kronborg under militær administration. I den
periode blev adskillige rum bygget om.
Under Napoleonskrigene var Danmark Frankrigs allierede, og fjenden var
Storbritannien. En stor britisk flåde under Admiral Parker og hans
næstkommanderende Lord Nelson havde held til at passere Kronborg i
1801 - ikke et eneste britisk skib gik tabt.
I 1816, tohundredåret for Shakespeare's død, blev "Hamlet"
for første gang opført på Kronborg.
Fra 1834-97 blev Kronborg restaureret. Militærbarakkerne blev nedlagt
i 1923, og Kronborg blev gennemgribende restaureret og genopbygget som
på Frederik d. 2. og Christian d. 4.'s tid.
Staten har overtaget ansvaret for slottet, der nu er museum, fra 1915 fik
Handel- og
Søfartsmuseet til huse i slottet.
Under anden verdenskrig blev Kronborg besat af de tyske tropper.
I 2000 blev
Kronborg føjet til UNESCO's liste over over verdens kulturarv.
(Renæssance) |
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Kronborg Castle, "Hamlet's Castle", Elsinore, North Zealand, Denmark. Known all
over the world from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
- a stone
tablet at the main entrance to the castle shows a portrait of William
Shakespeare (1564-1616).
In the 1420s the Danish king, Erik of Pomerania, built a fortress named
Krogen - a number of buildings encircled by a ring wall. The king
introduced
the Sound Toll - all ships passing Elsinore had to pay duty to the
Danish Crown.
In 1585, during the reign of king Frederik
II, Krogen was converted to
Kronborg, and also the first of the
bastions, the special triangular ramparts, was built. If somebody used
the previous name Krogen, the person concerned had to pay a penalty for the
offence - a good ox. In 1629 the castle burnt down apart from the church.
During
King
Christian
IV., the castle was rebuilt and
reopened in 1639. Christian IV also built more modern castles e.g. Rosenborg and
Frederiksborg,
and Kronborg ceased to be a royal residence in the 17th century. In 1658 most of Denmark was occupied by the Swedish, and Copenhagen was
in danger of suffering the same fate, the Swedish troops regarded
control of Kronborg as a crucial step before attacking Copenhagen. After
the withdrawal of Swedish troops in 1660, a peace treaty was signed, the
troops left Kronborg robbed and destroyed. Afterwards the defences were
strengthened significantly. From
1688-90 an advanced line of defence
was added called the Crownwork, and
a new series of ramparts were built
around it. In
1772 the Queen of Denmark Caroline Mathilde was under house arrest at Kronborg - she got married at a very
young age to the mentally sick King Christian VII, shortly after the
wedding she became the mistress of Johann Friedrich Struensee
(1737-1772), the kings's personal physician. In 1772 Struensee was
deposed by a coup, and the queen was arrested as his accomplice and sent
to Kronborg, where she spent much of her time in the tower room beside
the Queen's Chamber - after four months she was released and allowed to
leave Denmark. From 1785-1923 Kronborg was under military administration. During this
period, a number of renovations were completed. The ballroom was divided
into two storeys, and the church was converted into a gymnasium.
During the Napoleonic wars Denmark was allied with the French and the
enemy of Great Britain. A large British fleet under Admiral Parker and
his second in command Lord Nelson succeeded in passing Kronborg in 1801
- not one British ship was lost.
In 1816, the 200th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare, his drama
Hamlet was performed for first time at Kronborg. The actors were
soldiers from the Castle garrison.
From 1834-97 Kronborg was restored.
The military barracks were abolished in 1923, and Kronborg was thorough
restored. A lot of effort has been expended trying to restore the Castle
to the way it looked during the reigns of Frederik II and Christian IV.
The state assumed responsibility for the Castle, which was turned into a
museum.
During World War II, 1940-45, Kronborg was occupied by German troops.
In 2000
Kronborg was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.
(Renaissance)
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