If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 582

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aerial view of Kronborg Slot or Castle, Helsingør, Denmark

 

It is always fun to find a postcard from some place where I have visited.  This card with an aerial color photograph view of Kronborg Castle was purchased at a local antique mall.  It is unused and not dated with no credit provided for the photographer.  The card is a product of Repoduktion Hammer Luftart, Copenhagen and has the number 101 at the bottom of the center line on the reverse.  Kronborg Slot has some claim to fame as it is the Danish Prince Hamlet's Elsinore Castle found in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.

 

Located on the extreme northeastern tip of the Danish island Zealand, this castle was important as a coastal fortification at the narrowest point of the sound between Denmark and Sweden and a stronghold for the town of Helsingør.  In the beginning it was a fortress built in the early 1400s by the Danish king, Eric of Pomerania.  The king levied Sound dues on all ships entering or leaving the Baltic Sea.  During that time the Kingdom of Denmark extended across both sides of the Øresund.  On what is now part of Sweden stood another fortress castle and with two fortresses and ships guarding the narrow entry it was possible to control all navigation through the Sound.  In 1558-1559 King Christian III added bastions to the curtain wall.  Improvements in military techniques and improved striking power of the artillery resulted in additional extensions and advanced bastions in 1577 by King Frederick II.  The castle itself was then rebuilt during the time between 1574 and 1585.  A fire in 1629 destroyed much of the castle and it was rebuilt and restored by King Christian IV.  The exterior was reconstructed without major changes; however, the interior never completely regained its former glory.  Kings and Queens lived in the castle at one time.  It was also used as a prison from 1739 to the 1900s.  The convicts were sentenced to work on the castle’s fortifications.  In 2000 Krongborg was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. 

 

When we visited here in 1982, we were mainly taking slides and not many snapshots.  Most of the slides remain as slides but I found the two snapshots shared below.  We took a guided tour and saw the cells in the dungeon, went up the stairs to the tower, and viewed many other rooms in the castle.  

 

 

 

Partial exterior view of Kronborg Castle, 1982

 

 

View of the Great Hall, 1982

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronborg