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.
As Kronborg's importance as a royal castle diminished, the armed forces came to play a greater role. From 1785 to 1922, the Castle was completely under military administration. During this period, a number of renovations were completed.
Kronborg is known by many also as "Elsinore," the setting for much of William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Hamlet was performed in the actual castle for the first time to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, with a cast consisting of soldiers from the castle garrison. The stage was in the telegraph tower in the southwest corner of the castle. The play has since been performed several times in the courtyard and at various locations on the fortifications.
Kronborg houses a statue of Ogier the Dane (Holger Danske), who, according to legend, slumbers here until the day Denmark is in grave danger, at which time he will arise and save the nation.
The castle formed the setting for the TV christmas calendar, Jul p� Kronborg, which featured both Hamlet and Ogier the Dane, as well as Christian IV.
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