What would Willy Shakespeare have had to say?

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September 3rd 2014

Published: September 4th 2014

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michelleandkev

Helsingør railway station

Charlotte, Kev and I decided to catch a train to Helsingør to visit the Kronborg Castle, the legendary castle in Shakespeare's "Hamlet". While Hamlet is in his "castle of Elsinore" he is a purely literary figure although the basic features of the story can be traced back to the Danish Chronicle of "Saxon Grammaricus" from around the year 1200. The legend migrated to England via the French author Belleforest's "Histoires Tragiques" and in the work of Thomas Kyd and finally to Shakespeare. Since then the story has inspired many writers including Charles Dickens.

Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story capable of seemingly endless retelling and adaptation. The play seems to have been one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime and still ranks among his most-performed, topping the performance list of the Royal Shakespeare Company and its predecessors in Stratford-upon-Avon since 1879. It has also been performed on various occasions in Australia by the Bell Shakespear Company as well as other theatre companies. Since 1816 the castle has been the setting for many performances of Shakespeare's

Inside the entrance to the station

famous drama. Actors such as Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Vivienne Lee, Richard Burton, Kenneth Branagh and many others have given life to the play at Kronborg Castle.

And while we did the guided tour 'In Hamlet's Foorsteps' there was much more to the castle than the Shakespeare connection. Indeed the town of Helsingør itself - what we saw of it - was well worth a visit. Mind you, the the perfect day helped too of course.

Kronborg Castle was named by King Frederik II in 1577, but its history goes right back to the 1420s, when Erik of Pomerania built the strongly fortified castle known as "Krogen" ("The Hook"). It has has a chequered history; after being abandoned as a royal residence, then as a military barracks the castle underwent an extensive renovation with the aim to open it to the public. The former royal apartments were furnished so that visitors could get an impression of furnishings that once dominated the interior of the castle and apart from some royal tapestries very little of the original contents remain. A number of rooms had been rebuilt, but after the army left the castle in 1923, it was thoroughly renovated

Carved wooden ceiling

Helsingør Railway Station

and restored to how it had been in the days of Frederik II and Christian IV.

But apparently it is the Hamlet connection which has been the drawcard, especially to visitors from overseas. Kev, Charlotte and I all agreed that the 'In Hamlet's Footsteps' tour, given to us by Hamlet's friend Horatio did a wonderful job of explaining the story to us while taking us to various parts of the castle where the action was supposed to have taken place.

After that little adventure, which followed a self guided tour we did of the castle we visited the Casements. In these damp, low areas, soldiers would stay for longer periods during sieges and bombardments. It takes little imagination to picture how demanding, physically and mentally, it must have been to be confined for days or even months in the damp and sinister casemates. We found it quite spooky, and if it wasn't for the arrows which guided us in the dark to the way out we might still be there!

Helsingør was once a major shipbuilding town and that part of the industrial area has been converted into a Cultural Centre, Library and Theatre. All in all