Elsinore

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For other uses, see Elsinore (disambiguation).
Elsinore
Helsingør
Kronborg Castle
Elsinore is located in Denmark
Elsinore
Location in Denmark
Coordinates: 56°02′N 12°37′E / 56.033°N 12.617°E / 56.033; 12.617Coordinates: 56°02′N 12°37′E / 56.033°N 12.617°E / 56.033; 12.617
Country Denmark
Region Capital Region
Municipality Helsingør Municipality
Established 1420s
City charter 17th century
Current municipality 2007-01-01
Government
 • Mayor Johannes Hecht-Nielsen
Population (2011-01-01)
 • Total 46,279
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+1)
Website www.helsingorkommune.dk
Part of waterfront area.

Elsinore[1] (Danish: Helsingør; pronounced [hɛlseŋˈøɐ̯ˀ]) is a city and the municipal seat of Helsingør municipality on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. Elsinore has a population of 46,279 (1 January 2011)[2] including the southern suburbs of Snekkersten and Espergærde. It is known internationally for Elsinore Castle (Kronborg) as the setting of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, whence the spelling "Elsinore" originated.

Contents

[edit] History

The name Helsingør is derived from the word hals meaning "neck" or "narrow strait", referring to the narrow strait (Øresund, or The Sound) between what is now Elsinore and Helsingborg, Sweden. The Rerum Danicarum Historica (1631) claims that the history of Elsinore can be traced back to 70 BC, but this information is highly dubious. The people were mentioned as Helsinger (which may mean "the people of the strait"), for the first time in King Valdemar the Victorious's Liber Census Daniæ from 1231, but they should not be confused with the Helsings of Hälsingland in Sweden. Placenames show that the Helsinger may have had their main fort at Helsingborg and a fortified landing place at Elsinore, to control the ferry route across the strait.

Before the Middle Ages, Elsinore was just a marketplace where people sold goods. About 1200 AD, the first church, Sct Olai Church, was built.[3] A number of convents once surrounded the church, but now all that remains is the church building, today the cathedral of the Diocese of Helsingør. The oldest parts of the cathedral of Elsinore date back to the 13th century and tell us that the fishermen's village, as Elsinore was then, was a town of a certain importance. At least, there has always been some form of ferryboat crossing between Elsinore and Helsingborg.[3]

Elsinore, as we know it today, was founded in the 1420s by the Danish king Eric of Pomerania. He established the Sound Dues in 1429 and built the castle Krogen, which was expanded in the 1580s and named Kronborg.[3]

Kronborg Castle is the main tourist attraction. The play Hamlet has been performed a number of times in its courtyard.[3]

The Swedish city of Helsingborg lies a short distance across the Øresund from Elsinore. European route E55 joins the two cities; ferries connect the two sides.

[edit] Districts

Centrum

  • North: Grønnehave (Green Gardens), Højstrup and Marienlyst, Hellebæk, Højstrup, Ålsgårde and Hornbæk
  • West: Sundparken, Grøningen, Nøjsomheden and Vapnagård Gurre, Tikøb
  • South: Skotterup and Snekkersten and Espergærde

[edit] International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Denmark

[edit] Twin towns — sister cities

Helsingør is twinned with:

[edit] In fiction and popular culture

  • William Shakespeare's play Hamlet takes place at Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, from whence the English spelling "Elsinore" derived.
  • In the 1983 comedy Strange Brew, which is loosely based on Hamlet, the protagonists are given jobs at Elsinore Brewery.
  • In Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series, Helsingør fires mortar shells at the heroes in book seven, The Surgeon's Mate, as they sail past on their way to a rendezvous in the Baltic.
  • In Philip Roth's second Chapter of his novel Our Gang ('71), Trick E. Dixon in a fictive speech tries to claim Helsingør as US-territory and tries to convince the audience to occupy the area
  • In Bret Easton Ellis's novel Lunar Park the street on which the character Bret Easton Ellis lives with his own father-son haunting issues is named Elsinore Lane.
  • Several stories written by the Danish author Karen Blixen (or Isak Dinesen) take place in "Elsinore," including "The Supper at Elsinore" in her first published volume of stories, Seven Gothic Tales.
  • A well-known poem by the Portuguese surrealist poet Mário Cesariny is named "You are welcome to Elsinore".
  • Children's author Richard Scarry depicted Helsingør as his "A Castle in Denmark" in the book Busy, Busy World.
  • The indie rock band The Essex Green recorded a song titled "Elsinore" for their 2006 album Cannibal Sea.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Notes
  1. ^ Elsinore (Helsingør) at VisitNordsjaelland.com official tourist website
  2. ^ BEF44: Population 1st January, by urban areas database from Statistics Denmark
  3. ^ a b c d "HELSINGØR TURISTBUREAU - VICTORIA DESIGN". www.visithelsingor.dk. http://www.visithelsingor.dk/ENGELSK/mainmenu.html. Retrieved 2009-10-21. 
  4. ^ "Gdańsk Official Website: 'Miasta partnerskie'" (in Polish & English). © 2009 Urząd Miejski w Gdańsku. http://www.gdansk.pl/samorzad,62,733.html. Retrieved 2009-07-11. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elsinore
as of 1 January 2011, according to Statistics Denmark [1]
1. Copenhagen 1,199,224
2. Århus 249,709
3. Odense 167,615
4. Aalborg 124,921
5. Esbjerg 71,576
6. Randers 60,656
7. Kolding 57,197
8. Horsens 53,807
9. Vejle 51,341
10. Roskilde 47,117
11. Helsingør 46,279
12. Herning 46,279
13. Hørsholm 45,873
14. Silkeborg 42,724
15. Næstved 41,667
16. Fredericia 39,716
17. Viborg 35,893
18. Køge 35,104
19. Holstebro 34,241
20. Taastrup 32,406
21. Slagelse 31,979
22. Hillerød 30,350
23. Sønderborg 27,237
24. Holbæk 27,055
25. Svendborg 27,009
26. Hjørring 24,762
27. Frederikshavn 23,339
28. Haderslev 21,213
29. Ringsted 21,151
30. Ølstykke/Stenløse 20,665
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