Saturday, I walked through the city en route to a tour of Carlsberg Brewery seeing the following sites along the way.
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| Børsen - 17th century stock exchange used until 1857 |
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| Houses across canal |
We then reached the brewery which, in and of itself, is an interesting historical site. Carlsberg is a huge driving force in the Copenhagen and even Danish business world.
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| Modern Carlsberg Headquarters |
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| Historic Entrance Gate |
Carlsberg chose the swastika as their emblem in the 19th century for it's Indian symbolism of good luck. It appears above the windows on the inner gate and on the side of the elephants among many others. Interestingly enough, the other symbol of the brand is the brewery 6-sided star identical in appearance to the star of David but instead symbolizing the components of a well brewed beer: fire, air, water, earth.
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| Historic Inner Gate |
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| Elephant at Base of Gate |
Sunday we headed out by train to first Helsingør, a small but historic town on the NE-most tip of Denmark. It is a very cute town with traditional brightly colored Danish houses and buildings sporting many Danish flags.
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| Looking down a Helsingør Street |
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| Corner flower park near square |
The town is also home to a 13th century church and monastery.
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| Sankt Olai Kirke (1200) |
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| Sankt Olai Kirke |
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| Karmeliterklosteret (Carmelite Monastary) 1209 |
Helsingør is also home to Kronborg Slot, the 15th century castle which was the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet. During summer months, performances of Hamlet are portrayed on a stage within the courtyard of the castle.
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| Entrance to Kronborg Slot |
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| Kronborg Slot (Hamlet's Castle) |
Kronborg Slot was strategically located on the NE-most tip of Denmark, that closest point to Sweden. From this fortress, Denmark was able to tax and control shipments through the øresund (sound between Sweden and Denmark). It's still an important channel, but also offers a beautiful view across the sound to Sweden.
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| View of Sweden from shore of Kronborg Slot |
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| Lokalbaner taken from Helsingør to Hillerød along coast |
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| Beautiful scenery along train ride |
