Holger Danske

The last thing that Jael and I saw in Kronborg Castle was the Casemates.  For some reason, I had anticipated that the casemates would be on the top of the walls.  They were not.  They were very far underground.  Very far.  They smelled a little like the basement at Little Grandma's old house--wet, kind of musty, and like the walls were about to cave in.  During times of threat, soldiers would live down in the casemates for months at a time, waiting to defend the castle.  It would not have been fun.

They sold flashlights in the gift store but Jael and I didn't buy one.  They had vending machines of only flashlights in the basement, right before you went down into the casemates.  Jael and I saved our money.  And then we spent the rest of our time stumbling around in the dark, trying to light our way with the LED display on the back of my camera.  It was really, really, really dark.  It was also a long way around, through lots of windy corridors, with lots of little side caverns and little corners and things.  It was kind of creepy.  The biggest problem of all, though, is that you couldn't really get a good picture to express how dark it was. When you used a flash, the white washed walls reflected light really well and it seemed pretty bright.  It was hard to really get the atmosphere.  There were lots of little corners as well, into which you could walk, with the walls closing in around you.  Jael went into one of them.  I stayed behind and helpfully took pictures and blinding her.  The pictures are all off-center because I couldn't actually see Jael until the flash went off.  In the picture of Jael's back, you can see that, when squeezing into the corner, she got white powder all over her pants and jacket, which marks stuck with her all the rest of the day.

I did find some pictures other folks took of the casemates which might give you a better idea of what they looked like.  You can click here or here for photo albums.  If you click here, you can see a blog entry who's author also failed to buy a flashlight.

When I was looking for pictures, I came across this video.  It is an episode of "Ghost Hunters International".  I do not know the legality of its position on YouTube but the episode is all about Kronborg Castle.  I did not watch the whole thing so I don't know how appropriate it is (although I assume that it is fine) but at 5:30,  they go down into the casemates and look around.  After that, they do a lot of "Wait!"  "What was that?"  "I think I saw something!"  and it's goofy but you do get to see the casemates, and other parts of the castle pretty well to start with.  The video is here.


The biggest and most famous thing about the casemates, though, is the statue of Holger Danske which is down there.  (You can find the official Kronborg Castle information page about the statute here.)  Holger Danske is a mythical/legendary king of the Danes from the 8th or 9th century.  According to the story, Holger Danske sleeps under Kronborg Castle, waiting until the Danes are in dire need of help to wake again.  The story is, apparently, not unique to the Danes and it is quite similar to the story of Father Time in C. S. Lewis's The Silver Chair.









The Holger Danske (or Holger the Dane) story seems to have become a large part of the Danish identity.  The Danish Resistance movement during WWII (Denmark was occupied by Germany in 1940 and remained under occupation throughout the war) was called "Holger Danske".  There is even an opera about him, called Holger Danske, which was written in 1789.  I couldn't find performances of the opera anywhere but, if you go here, you can find the opera on CD at Amazon--there you can buy it or listen to little samples of the opera.  He also had a whole TV show about his life.  It is claymation so it is kind of like watching a really weird, pagan-ey "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".  The TV show is called "The Ballad of Holger Danske".  The name may be a reference to "The Song of Roland" because, according to Danish myth, Holger the Dane actually defeated Charlemagne in a one-on-one fight before graciously sparing his life and then helping him to fight against the Turks.

There are other musical endeavors.  For instance, Holger the Dane shows up in Danish rap music (click here.  It's actually not that bad (although, I suppose, it could have very bad language and I would never know)).  I bet not every national hero can say that.  And, there is a more traditional sounding song called "I alle de riger og lande" in which Holger Danske sings about how he is not afraid to let the world know that he is Danish and that anyone who doesn't hold their Danish heritage proudly is no true Dane (I gather).  I have included the words to the song below, as well as the Google Translate translation of them which doesn't make tons of sense, but you probably get the idea.

Danish words to “I alle de riger og lande”

Google Translate version of the lyrics

I alle de riger og lande, hvorhen jeg i verden fo'r, jeg fægted med åben pande for, hvad jeg for alvor tror. En ørn var mit hjelmemærke, på brynjen stod korsets tegn, på skjold bar jeg løverne stærke i hjerternes milde hegn. Når mænd jeg kasted min handske, opslog jeg min ridderhjelm, de så, jeg var Holger Danske og ingen formummet skælm. Vil dansken i verden fægte, men dølger åsyn og navn, jeg ved, hans ånd er ej ægte, jeg tager ham ej i favn.

In all the kingdoms and countries whither I rushed world, I by open pan fægted for what I really think. An eagle was my helmet brand in armor standing sign of the cross the shield I wore lions strong in hearts mild fence. When the men I threw my glove, I pitched my knight helmet they saw I was Holger Danish and no disguised rogue. Will Dane in the world fencing, but hides face and name, I know his spirit is not real, I take him not to embrace.

However, by far my favorite piece of Holger Danske history is this 1909 Danish movie called "Holger Danske".  The film is pretty dark and kind of hard to see and has, of course, no sound.  You can skip ahead to 1:15, when the story really gets started (I gather that the first minute or so is Holger Danske sleeping, then dreaming about the lady-in-distress, and then waking to go save her).  Just make sure to keep watching through the second minute or so, so that you don't miss one of the absolute best death scenes ever.

 












This is Hans Christian Andersen's Holger Danske.  It was published in 1845.  It is now in the public domain and there were four or five versions of it available on Google Books.  However, most of them were in the middle of long books which required searching through, so I am just putting this here, in case it is of interest. It is one of the less creepy and sad fairy tales that Andersen produced.  You can see the Danish version here.

Kronborg Slot

Kronborg became really important because of the Protestant Reformation.  The fracturing of central European power structures made northern European kingdoms relatively more powerful and the Danish association with the Lutherans made them more noticeable.  (You can read something about the history of the castle here, at the English Wikipedia page.)  The castle used to be called Krogen but, to reflect it's new important political, religious, and military significance, it was renamed Kronborg.

Throughout the castle, they had little models of the castle at various stages of development.

As I have pointed out before, Helsingør is very close to Sweden.  The Danes and the Swedes often didn't get along well and, in 1658, the Swedes sacked Helsingør, taking most of their good stuff.  At Kronborg, they have a fair number of displays with replicas or artistic renderings of cool stuff that used to be at the castle but which the Swedes now have.  Jael and I were starting to think that we needed to head over to the Swedish side, just to see all of the cool stuff.

The original fountain on which this model was based was taken by the Swedes.  Doesn't that just seem like an awful lot of work, disassembling and transporting a giant marble fountain?  Maybe I'm just not cut out to follow on the rampaging heels of my forefathers but it just doesn't seem worth the bother, even for such a pretty fountain.

One thing that was particular interesting about this fountain, though, is the little armed figures on the edge of the fountain.  They alternate holding rifles and bows and arrows which is a really fun snap-shot of the technological changes in warfare that were going on at the time.


A lot of the castle was empty.  Just big rooms with paintings or informational plaques on the wall.  Part of this was because they were doing renovation in some places.  A lot of it, as signs kept reiterating, was because of those pesky Swedes.

They did have a lot of scale models and model doll castles, showing what things would have looked like (if those rotten Swedes hadn't come around).  Since the castle was also not well lit, many of my pictures ended up looking really blurry but I will included them anyways because otherwise it would be to much work to describe everything.  I expect that the Swedes took all of the good lamps.  Lousy Swedes.

The Kronborg Castle kitchens--how they would have looked if the Swedes hadn't come and if they were having a party.

Royal apartments, Kronborg Castle

There were a lot of  life-sized shadow shows.  This one shows servants in the kitchen making a meal.

They had a giant box where they had little projection shows projected over a little doll-house set up.  Sometimes, the projections didn't quite line up with the furniture but it was pretty nifty.  We had to wait to take pictures because the whole front of the box (which was probably about 8 feet long) was crowded with little kids who were pretty fascinated by it.

One of the big prizes of the Kronborg collection is the Danish Kings series of tapestries.  Denmark has the oldest royal family in the world (or the oldest continual monarchy, I am not exactly sure, but they are really proud of it).  There were originally 40 tapestries but only 14 are still around and Kronborg has got 7 of them.  The tapestries showed 113 Danish kings.  The Swedes were planning their own series at the same time and they claimed to have 143 kings to put up but that was because they claimed Noah as the founding Swedish king.  (Those Swedes.)  You can read a bit about the tapestries here.

This is King Oluf.  He wasn't that spectacular (because he died as a little child) but he is important because
his mother was Margaret.  She served as Queen Regent and was so beloved (or at least so competent) that,
when her son died and she lost all title to the throne, the Danes kept her on anyways.  She served as queen
for a pretty long time and, in fact, reigned over a united kingdom of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.  She was
the queen around whose story The Copenhagen Connection was woven.

In one of the hallways, right next to a privy, there was a display
about Early Modern plumbing.   There was what appeared to be
a pile of coffee grounds at the bottom of the plumbing model

Jael was excellent to have around good
photo opportunities.

They do Hamlet at Kronborg Castle a lot.  Understandably.  They also do a fair number of other Shakespeare plays as well.  There are a variety of forms for the plays--some traditional, some ballet, some modern, some really, really weird.

The Castle had its very own chapel which was nice, because we went in there when it was raining.  It also had a really pretty organ.  This picture was taken by Jael since mine all turned out really blurry.  Also, it counts as a picture of me.  I am on the left.  

The edges of the pews (though very blurry here) were really neat and colorful.  They looked a lot like Scandinavian barbarian stuff.  In the airport at Copenhagen, there was an art installation with giant faces on the wall that looked (from what I can remember) a lot like this.  I wonder if there is some "thing" about them in Denmark.

The inside courtyard of Kronborg Castle's pretty copper roof.

Typische Nederland

Last week I had to prepare for a group project.  Now, generally, I am absolutely opposed to group projects.  I do not like them.  They are not fun.  I question their pedagogical value.  However, this time I a was okay with it.  One of my classmates suggested that we meet at her house where we could have a traditional Dutch (typische Nederland) dinner.  She would cook, we could bring ideas.  I thought that this was an excellent plan.

Remelie (pronounced, I really, really hope, liked "Emily" with an "R" at the beginning) said that she had trouble deciding what to make, since modern Dutch folks generally eat very international food.  She said that she decided to make the kind of food that people used to make for Sunday dinner--the kind of really traditional food that people don't usually bother to make properly anymore.  It was pretty excellent.  And it really, really does make a difference if you make a meal right instead of using the short-cut, store bought versions.

For supper, we had a typische oud Hollandse rundvleesstoofpot (a traditional old Dutch beef stew).  It is kind of similar to that beef stew that Mom makes from time to time, that has cinnamon in it and that is served over noodles (I forget the name of it).

I didn't get the exact recipe that Remelie used and there were loads of different variations of the recipe on the internet.  I think that finding a recipe for this is like finding a recipe for "pot roast" or "stew"--everybody does it similarly but not quite the same.

For desert, we had hangop with stewed currants.  Hangop is kind of yogurt-like but it is made at home very simply.  You can serve it with any kind of berries or fruit (I bet a rhubarb sauce would be excellent) but currants are really popular in the Netherlands.

I have translated/compiled the recipes so that you can make your own typische Nederland dinner.

Rundvleesstoofpot
2 lbs beef (different recipes called for stew meat/steaks/roasts)
1 beef bullion cube
2 large onions, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
1 large apple, in small slices (some recipes called for this, others did not--ours didn't)
4 oz. of bacon
4 oz. of pitted prunes diced (or you can substitute raisins)
2 slices of gingerbread
(1 bottle of dark beer--some recipes called for this, others did not--I don't think ours did )
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
bouquet garni for beef (you can probably just throw in some spices that sound good, if you want)
oil
butter
mustard
paprika
Provencal herbs
salt
pepper
bay leaf

(Some recipes call for the beef to be cut into small pieces. They have a cooking time of 2.5/3 hours. Remilie made it with the roast sliced into slices about 1"x2"x3" and she cooked it for 5 hours in the oven.  Other recipes called for cooking on the stove top, partially or entirely but it would probably work great in the crock-pot).
(The gingerbread that they use, ontbijtkoek, is flavored like gingerbread but the texture is more like a spice cake or quick bread.)
(Dutch bullion cubes are larger than American cubes, I think. They are supposed to be mixed with half a liter of water, so you probably need two bullion cubes.)

Fry beef pieces/slices in oil and butter until brown. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika. Add bacon and onion. Fry on medium heat until bacon is crisp and the onions are translucent (5-7 minutes). Turn to low heat and add the bullion cube, Provencal herbs, bay leaf, bouquet garni, and water until the meat is just covered. Bring to boil and turn down again. Heavily spread mustard on gingerbread and lay bread on meat, mustard-side down. With lid tilted, simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan. Add plums (or raisins) and apple. Cook in the oven, covered, for another 20 or 30 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes.  A lot of recipes suggested serving brussel sprouts as well.  We had fresh green beans.  You can serve whatever vegetables you want but the green looks pretty.



Hangop
Place a damp and wrung-out tea towel in a bowl or colander.  Pour buttermilk into tea towel.  Twist close and hang over bowl to drain or, if using a colander, cover and let drain.  Let drain a long time, stirring occasionally.  (Let drain at room temperature for 5 to 8 hours--the longer it drains, the more whey that drains off and the less sour it will be.)
When it is finished draining, scoop curds out of tea towel into a bowl.  Whisk well, with some powdered sugar to cut the sourness.  (Most of the recipes said to whisk it with brown sugar and cinnamon, to taste, but we had it just with powdered sugar.)  Serve with more powdered sugar, if needed.  You can serve plain or with a fruit compote of some kind.
(A couple of the recipes say that a liter of buttermilk makes desert for four people.)

Kronborg Keep, part two

After Jael posed for wonderful shots with the model, we crossed the moat and went in to check out the castle.  But, before we got to the regular part you had to pay to see, we got to see a bunch more free stuff.  Kronborg Castle was, until 20 or so years ago, still a military outpost.  Since the army left, the old buildings have become kind of an art center and there are loads of galleries all over the place where you could buy stuff and watch it be made.  Nothing was open when we were there but the set-up reminded me a lot of Williamsburg.

There was lots of fun educational stuff as well though.  There was loads of space and, as my guidebook noted, this would have been a great place to have a picnic lunch (had it been above freezing).  There was a series of scale models which showed the growth of the castle over the years.

1420-1500

1500-1585

1585-1749

They also had a giant (and I mean giant) contour map of the coasts of Denmark and Sweden which were near each other along the Øresund.  The map took up the whole front lawn area inside the big gates of the castle area but outside of the inside moat.

Jael is standing on Helsingør and I am taking the picture by København (Copenhagen).

Here, Helsingør is in the foreground and Helsingborg, Sweden, is in the distance.

Standing near the giant map, looking up at the castle over the little, internal moat.

It looks like they had an officers'
training school here.

The Helsingør Garrison, 1425-1991

The old barracks have been turned into artists' studios and storage.

Horse Trough! 

This was what was stored in one of the barracks above.
I have no idea what they are for but the whole room was full of them.

That's Sweden, just across the way!

Walking up to the castle.  See all the cannon?

There were these kinds of hills with doors in them all over the place.  Jael was really hoping
that they were Hobbit holes (they were locked so we couldn't check) but, after we went
through the castle I think we were both resigned to the fact that they were probably just
entrances into the giant maze of underground tunnels which were supposed to help defend
the castle.

They had a bunch of historical plaques up here, as well, pointing out interesting historical information about the castle, the city, and the royal family.

This makes me think "But I'm not dead yet!"
The label reads "Plague victims driven away."

Poseidon and Hermes showed up again, here, around the entrance to the actual castle part of the castle.









These reliefs of ladies holding skulls are over the main entry gate into the castle itself.  This is where I quoted some quite appropriate Shakespeare and where Jael ignored my literary efforts.  I said "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well" (a slight misquotation of Hamlet, Act V, Scene i) and then I looked up and Jael had gone off somewhere else.  But I promise, I really did quote some Hamlet while I was at Elsinore.

If you click here, you can watch a three minute video about Kronborg Castle.  There isn't that much information on the video but it does have some really pretty aerial views and you get to see a little more of the castle.