Helsingør

Helsingør, city, northeastern Denmark. It lies on the northeast coast of Zealand (Sjælland), at the narrowest part of The Sound (Øresund), opposite Helsingborg, Sweden, with which it is connected by ferry. A toll for crossing The Sound was introduced in medieval times, and Helsingør, which had been a trading community since the 13th century, was granted a charter (1426). The city prospered until the toll was abolished in 1857.

Kronborg Castle, the Elsinore Castle of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, was built in Helsingør between 1574 and 1585 by Frederick II in Dutch Renaissance style to replace an earlier fortress built by Erik VII (of Pomerania) in the 15th century; in the 17th century much of the castle was reconstructed, largely along the lines of the original design, by Christian IV after a fire heavily damaged it in 1629. The castle played a major role in toll collection. It served as a barracks from 1785 to 1922 and was thoroughly restored in the late 1920s. Its notable features include a banquet hall, chapel, and a maritime museum. In 2000 Kronborg was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Other historical sites in the city include the Gothic St. Olai Church; Karmeliterklostret (1430), a former Carmelite monastery; and Marienlyst (c. 1587), a royal chateau, which houses a museum and Hamlet collection. The city also features the Danish Museum of Technology, part of the National Museum of Science and Technology.

Helsingør is now a commercial and administrative centre; leading economic factors include the port facilities, varied and mostly small-scale manufacturing, and tourism. The ancestral home of author Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) and the modern Louisiana Museum of Modern Art are both south of the city. Pop. (2008 est.) city, 34,350; (2005 est.) mun., 61,295.