Kronborg Castle is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe... William Shakespeare's story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, takes place behind the walls of the castle at Elsinore. Kronborg is therefore known throughout much of the world as Hamlet's Castle, and Elsinore as Hamlet's town.
From 1739 until the mid-19th century, Kronborg was used as a slave prison. The inmates were guarded by the soldiers billeted in the Castle. The slaves were male convicts who had been sentenced to work on the Castle's fortifications. The convicts were divided into two categories. Those with minor sentences were categorised as "honest" and were allowed to work outside the Castle walls. Those serving sentences for violence, murder, arson or the like were categorised as "dishonest" and had to serve the full sentence doing hard physical labour inside the Castle ramparts. Otherwise, they served their time under the same conditions: they all had to wear chains and spend nights in cold and damp dungeons.
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Phone: +45 4921 3078
Address: Kronborg, Denmark
Directions: about 1.5 hrs by car from Cophengagen
Website: http://www.kronborgcastle.com
Other Contact: E-mail: kronborg@ses.dk
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on Feb 23, 2006
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