NHK World Heritage 100 Series (anglais)

Texte narratif (en anglais)

"To be or not to be; That is the question."

This is Kronborg castle in Denmark. It is known as the setting for Shakespeare’s play Hamlet.The castle is It was built on the tip of a cape protruding into the Øresund strait which separates Denmark from Sweden on this side and Sweden on the other. The castle, Built in the North European Renaissance style, construction was completed in 1585.

William Shakespeare based Hamlet, A great literary masterpiece was created on the story of a legendary Danish prince. The story is entitled "Hamlet" and was written by William Shakespeare. In the original legend, the prince’s uncle kills his father and marries his mother. Eventually the prince avenges his father’s death by killing his uncle and later becomes the King of Denmark. The name of the prince is Amleth. Shakespeare moved the "h" from the end to the beginning and created a new character named Hamlet.

"…King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me! Let me not burst in ignorance; but tell why thy canonized bones, hearsed in death, Have burst their cerements; why the sepulchre, Wherein we saw thee quietly inurn’d, Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws, To cast thee up again…………..Say, why is this? Wherefore? What should we do?"

Kronborg castle is located on a part of The Øresund Strait which is only about 4 km wide. The strait was a major artery for sea traffic connecting the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. Kronborg palace was built on this cape to levy tolls from ships passing through the strait. The tower overlooks the straits and has a commanding view of the opposite bank. It was used as a watchtower to monitor passing ships. These cannons kept the sea traffic under control. On a busy day, over 90 ships passed through here. The entire toll fee collected from the ships became the kings’ income. The toll fee revenues amounted to nearly one third of the national budget and …… toll fees were also paid in forms other than currency, such as salt and wine.

It is said that in days past this cellar was stocked with the finest wines from all over Europe. A former castle guard leads us to the cellar. According to him, this place is not usually open to the public. "On the other side of this door there is a place called the King’s tower. I will show you something interesting." A narrow staircase behind the castle has some texts engraved by a palace official who was kept in confinement. It reads, "I was a close advisor to the King, but in 1679 I was falsely accused, arrested and confined here." It is not possible to establish what truth there is in the statement. The castle has been a setting for real-life drama and also for Shakespeare’s: "O, I die, Horatio; The potent poison quite o’er-crows my spirit; …….So tell him, with the occurents, more and less, Which have solicited. The rest is silence.