Kronborg Slot

Useful Information

Location:	Kronborg 2 C, 3000 Helsingør (Elsinore). (56.039078, 12.621699)
Open:	MAY to OCT daily 10-17. NOV to APR Tue-Sun 11-16. Closed 01-JAN, 24-DEC, 25-DEC, 31-DEC. [2023]
Fee:	Adults DKK 125, Children (0-17) free, Students DKK 115. Groups (10+): Adults DKK 115. JUN to AUG: Adults DKK 135. [2023]
Classification:	Cellar Casemate
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Kronborg Slot, Kronborg 2 C, 3000 Helsingør (Elsinore), Tel: +45-49-21-30-78. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1420	Kronborg Castle built.
1574-1576	vaulted cellars and casemates built.
1739	castle used as a prison, prisoners
17-JAN-1772	Queen Caroline Mathilde, sister of King George III, with her daughter imprisonment for her affair with Johann Friedrich Struensee.
30-APR-1772	end of imprisonment of Queen Caroline Mathilde.
2000	inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Description

Kronborg Slot has vast dungeons, cellars with barrel vaulted ceilings. According to legend Holger Danske, a legendary knight, sleeps in the castle’s dungeons, ready to wake up when Denmark needs him. But Denmark has been doing so well in recent centuries that this was not necessary. To make the legend real a sculpture of the knight was placed in the cellar.

However, the actual story of the dungeon is their use as a prison from 1739 until the 20th century. The prisoners were guarded by the soldiers quartered in the castle. The convicts were sentenced to work on the castle's fortifications. Her they were divided into two categories. Those with lighter sentences were classified as "honest" and were allowed to work outside the castle walls. Murderers, arsonists or the like were classified as "dishonest" and had to serve the entire sentence doing hard physical labour within the castle walls. But all had to wear chains and spend the nights in the cold and damp dungeon.

Another part of the cellar are the kasematterne (casemates), which were a hideout for the soldiers. They were able to barricade themselves inside the casemates for weeks. The casemates were stocked with provisions to feed over 350 men for up to six weeks. The casemates also included a stable for horses. Located under the four protruding bastions they were built when the medieval fortress Krogen (The Hook) was rebuilt into the renaissance castle of Kronborg.

And there is more, the next are Frederik 2.s Vinkælder (Frederick II’s Wine Cellar), where he had one of the largest wine collections in Renaissance Europe. Ship who docked in Elsinore had to pay the Sound Dues in wine. The huge room, 30 m long and 11 m wide, with vaulted ceilings and numerous pilars is today used for dinners and receptions. Adjoining rooms are used by the catering when events are held. The room seats 140 people.