Helsingør - Kronborg Castle

In the northeast of Helsingør, on a peninsula in the Øresund, towers Kronborg Castle, a landmark visible from afar. Originally a fortress built about 1420 by Eric of Pomerania stood here. The new castle - a four-winged edifice with an enclosed inner courtyard - was built between 1574 and 1584 under Frederik II by the Dutch architects Hans van Paescheng and Anthonis van Opbergen. After a catastrophic fire in 1629 King Christian IV had the castle rebuilt between 1635 and 1640, finance being provided by raising the tolls on ships passing through the Øresund. For more than 100 years the castle served as a garrison; in 1924 it was renovated. In the South Wing lies the Castle Chapel, which survived the fire of 1629; it has a magnificent