To Be or Not to Be

It has been a while since I did a post based on my summer travels of 2005 but I was talking about this castle the past weekend so I thought I'd share!

Frederiksburg

Frederiksburg

Frederiksburg

Kronborg

Kronborg

(6/23/2005)
What better way to start out a day than with 2 castles?!?! First was Frederiksburg Slot. When the Rosenburg Slot (from Copenhagen) became too small Frederik II had this castle built up north of the city. He built a pretty modest one, but then his son, Christian IV (the builder king) got a hold of it and the construction went on for 20 more years! It was the seat of the monarchy during the years of absolute monarchy (1600’s to 1840’s I think) so the kings and queens were all crowned here during that time and lived there. So, it’s a bit over done at times, but not as out of control as say, Versailles. Actually, much of the interior was gutted by a fire in the 1800’s and they have had to reproduce the interiors, but you could still get a feel for how it looked. It does stretch across three small islands on a lake though so it has a very impressive look.
And then off to the next castle. “To be or not to be…” That is the question. My next stop was Elsinor and the castle now called Kronborg Slot. It was in this castle that Shakespeare set Hamlet! Kind of fun to be wandering the halls of the supposed castle. Didn’t look anything like I imagined Hamlet’s castle to look. Still, it is a fairly good castle with a view across the water to Sweden. It is pretty bare inside because, at least according to our guide, after the Swedish royalty stayed they took (stole!) everything with them on leaving. Not sure if it’s true, but makes a good story!