Kronborg Castle, Denmark

The Kronborg Castle is a 16th century castle located near the town of Elsinore (Danish Helsingør) at the sound between Denmark and Sweden. The castle was built in 1585 by King Frederic II of Denmark who rebuilt the fortress built on that site in 1420's by Danish King Eric of Pomerania. In 1629 was the outstanding Renaissance castle severely damaged by a fire but in 1639 King Christian IV restored its exterior in its original appearance although its interior never fully recovered in its former beauty.



In 1658 was the castle seized by the Swedish forces which demonstrated its weaknesses. Soon afterwards were strengthen its defences and between 1688 and 1690 was added a new line of defences known as Crownwork which was later encircled by a new series of ramparts. Although was the Kronborg Castle after completion of the reinforcement in the late 17th century considered the strongest fortress in Europe it was not generally used as a royal residence. In 1785 the castle came under the administration of the army which used it for military purposes until 1923. After the departure of the army was the Kronborg Castle restored and renovated in its original appearance and is today used as a museum and is open to the public. The Kronborg Castle known also as Elsinore became famous also for being the setting for William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and is also used for performances of the Shakespeare's Hamlet. In 2000 was the Kronborg Castle for its historical and architectural value also inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage site.