Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maritime Museum and Tower:
I'd give the museum a miss, but if you're
a sailor at heart or want to climb the tower, here's the scoop: You'll pass
through a seemingly endless series of rooms detailing the salty history of this
seafaring nation, with sailor's bric-a-brac, paintings and models of ships and
captains, and a few particularly interesting sections (such as the collection of
mastheads in the large room, or the small exhibit on Inuit boats of Greenland).
Halfway through, you'll pass through a tight, stone spiral staircase leading up
to the top of one of the castle's corner towers, with a fine view of the prickly
spires, the town of Helsingør, and the Øresund strait. It's easy to imagine why
this was such a strategic point for a fortress—with Sweden so close and the
strait so narrow, this passage could be easily monitored from here. Note that
the maritime collection will be moved to its brand-new home just around the
harbor from the castle, likely by midsummer of 2013. (When that happens,
there's speculation that this space will be filled by an exhibit on Hamlet—a
topic that's otherwise in surprisingly short supply in the castle exhibits, given
its touristic currency.)
Royal Apartments:
Visitors are able to walk through one and a half floors
of the complex. The first few rooms are filled with high-tech exhibits, using
touchscreens and projected videos to explain the history of the place. You'll
learn how, in the 1420s, Danish King Eric of Pomerania built a fortress here to
allowforthecollection of“SoundDues,”levied onanypassingshiphopingto
enter the sound of Øresund. This proved hugely lucrative, eventually provid-
ing up to two-thirds of Denmark's entire income. By the time of Shakespeare,
Kronborg was well-known both for its profitable ability to levy these dues,
and for its famously lavish banquets—what better setting for a tale of a royal
family unraveling?
