Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in northern Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in the 1570s on the narrowest point of the Øresund strait, it commanded the Sound Dues — the toll all ships passing between the North Sea and the Baltic were required to pay Denmark for over four centuries. The income made Denmark one of the wealthiest kingdoms in Europe.
The castle is remarkable from the outside — the green copper roofs, the sandstone spires, and the dramatic position at the water's edge — but the interior is also worth exploring. The grand ballroom, 62 metres long, was one of the largest in Europe at the time it was built. The casemates beneath the castle (the vaulted brick tunnels used by soldiers and now housing the Holger Danske statue) are genuinely atmospheric. The castle hosts regular performances of Hamlet by visiting theatre companies in summer.