In 1425, Eric of Pomerania built Krogen Castle to help with the collection of the Sound Dues, a toll for merchant ships passing the sound. In 1574-75, King Frederik II rebuilt the castle as a luxurious Renaissance castle and renamed it Kronburg. The castle was ravaged by fire in 1629, but Frederik's son King Christian IV reconstructed the castle in the same style. In 1658, the castle was taken by the Swedish, who looted many of the castle's works of art and carried them back to Sweden. From 1785 to 1924, the castle was used as military barracks. Then it was restored and opened to the public in 1938. It became a World Heritage site in 2000.
We started with a tour of the casements, where soldiers once were quartered, poor souls. It was great fun for us to go down into the dark, cool network of stone rooms and halls... but I certainly wouldn't want to live there! Our guide took us to one oddly shaped room; it started quite wide, but then narrowed to a point. She told us it was used as a form of psychological torture - the cell bars would start at the entrance of the cell, giving the prisoner a very large space. Over time, the bars would be slowly moved inward until the prisoner only had room to stand and lie down. There was no window and no light. And there were rats. It probably worked very well.
This is a statue of Holger Danske, a kind of King Arthur of Denmark. In the legend he is the son of Geoffrey, a king of Denmark, but it's not sure who he actually was (if indeed he was a real person).
After the casements, we took a tour of the Royal Apartments. There were lots of paintings, and tapestries, and gorgeous wooden furniture, but I've forgotten most of what the guide told us. I think I enjoyed the casements better. (Myra liked it all.)
Ballroom (with original floor):
Room:
Tapestry:
The last part of the castle we viewed from the inside was the chapel. It was amazing the amount of carvings decorating that one room. The pews! Every end was carved with a different scene. It was cool, but we have been a little overexposed to detail for the last two weeks, so this room didn't hold us long.
We finished walking around the castle and then took a ferry to Helsingborg, Sweden. It was a 15-20 minute ride and we stayed there for all of an hour before returning to good old Denmark.
Sweden:
Sweden:
Back in Denmark (for the 4th time)
We checked into our hotel and were transported back into to a time where three people shared a room the size of a walk in closet and the bathroom was the size of a coat closet....
Basically, our hotel room looked a lot like the stateroom we left this morning. Only smaller. The bathroom is especially impressive. There is a shower curtain. If you close this curtain, the bathroom becomes a shower. Yup. (And A/C costs extra.....)
We set out on a quest to finally sample the gyro-like things that Rich saw the second time we came to Copenhagen. We found the exact shop and enjoyed a hearty meal of a gyro thingy, fries, and a small soft drink. All for the low, low price of 59 kroner. Actually, this was one of the best-priced meals we've seen in Denmark.
We returned to our tiny room, got ready for bed, and spent the next hour or so trying to get to sleep so we could wake up at 7 the next morning. Or so I predict.
~Mia
It has been very fun touring the Baltic with you three. I feel almost as if I could see the water and the beautiful buildings you describe. Can't wait for all your pictures!
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