To be, or not to be…

Well obviously to be. But before we talk about that, we had a super fun day in the north of Denmark visiting famous Danish castles.

The day began by renting a car in Copenhagen to cover tbe 60km to Fredriksborg Castle.

It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark in the early 1600s.

Interested in deer hunting, he used the castle with the neighbouring Bath House as a royal hunting lodge.

Frederiksborg Castle was the first Danish castle to be built inland. All previous castles had been on the coast or close to ports as the sea had traditionally been the principal means of travel.

It was also the first to be built for purely recreational purposes rather than for defense.

The Neptune fountain below is considered to be the castle’s sculptural masterpiece. It was created from 1620 to 1622 to stand on the castle’s forecourt symbolizing Denmark’s position as a leading Nordic power in the early 17th century

The chapel at Fredriksborg was consecrated in 1617.

It contains the oldest organ in Denmark, and it has 1,001 wooden pipes (waaay in the back of this picture). Its original manually-driven blower has been preserved. The instrument is decorated with ebony, ivory and silver.

The Great Hall above was used for receptions and parties, if you can imagine that.

Much more ornate and interesting inside than it would seem, a worthy stop on tbe trip.

From Fredriksborg, we climed back into our auto rental and drove another 35km to the small town of Helsingør which is located on the Øresund.

The Øresund is a narrow body of water that passes between Denmark and Sweden between the Baltic and North Seas. It is just 2.5km wide at the narrowest point.

This is the site of the real castle named Kronborg, but is better known as the fictional castle of Elsinore as it was immortalized in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and a castle has been here since around 1420.

Fairly humdrum after Fredriksborg you could nevertheless feel the weight of history as you entered the courtyard.

There were no real notable rooms inside Kronborg with the exception of the Great Hall.

Parties and events at Kronberg were always well attended by the cream of society who would show off their very best brocades and silks.

Entertainment was provided by acrobats, actors, musicians, and magicians while guests danced the night away in the Great Hall.

After visiting Kronborg we next did this.

You can read all about that in our next post.