The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1926-06-03
''ELSINORE' IS
500 YEARS OLD.
Hamlet's Home Town Will
Observe Anniversary
This Summer.

"One ghost, at least, of Elsinore's
past Is known the world around" says
bulletin from the National Geo.
graphic society giving an account Of
this famous Danish town, shat is the
shade of a king of Denmark, father of
Prince Hamlet.
But the other members of the cast
Of Shakespeare's drama are no ghosts
to the Helsingorians. Ophelia and
Hamlet, POlonius and the rest bring
considerable income to the town an
nually from tourists. Most real of all
Is the kings castle. What tourist will
pass Helsingor, when he can pace the
very same rampant where Hamlet met
his fathers ghost
Satisfying the Tourist.
zone American who happened to
visit Elsinore in the winter some years
ago, approached a native of the town
asking the way to Hamlet's grave. A
search at that time Of year would be
fruitless. the candid Dane told him,
because the grave was not usually
built up before spring. English and
American tourists annually carry it off
bit by bit, the Dane explained, until
there is nothing left of the artificial
mound by fall.
"Hamlet's home town Is sort of
out-dated Gibraltar of the Baltic. The
entrance of the Baltic is even more
CONSTRUCTED than the Straits of Gibral-
tar. One sails into Skagerrack north
east along the lobe of Norway, then
southeast down the Kattegat, separat-
ing Denmark and Sweden to the sound
or narrows. Here traveller can cas-
lily pick out houses and people on both
banks, for the shores are only two
and one-half miles apart. On the
Danish headland Is Helsingor, while
it's Swedish twin on the opposite side
is called Helsingborg. The sound con-
tfnues narrow for 40 miles. Its Baltic
throat is clogged with an island. Be
tween the island and the Danish main
land shore is the metropolis and CAP
ital city Of Copenhagen. The latter
has outdistanced Helsingor because it
could be guarded better. Copenhag-
lection from storms which Helsingor
could never provide. r
'.In 1929 when Helsingor was found
ed, there was, indeed, something rot
ten In the state of Denmark although
it was $50 years before Shakespeare
got around to say so. The king needed
money to run the country on and to
buy butter for the royal slice of
bread But the mobiles Of Denmark,
who were the tax collectors, told the
king they needed the money much
worse than he did. The general strike
of the mobiles was compromised by an
agreement that the king should have
all the revenue from dues which would
be levied on every vessel that passed
the sound.
Began Life az Customs Station.
$50 Helsingor was born, since it was
the logical place for customs sta
ton. Prospering also at this period
was the Hanseatic league, sort Of
glorified international chamber Of COM
merce. Thousands of the leagues
ships had to pass Helsingor on the
way to north Germany, Poland, Rus
STA and Scandinavia. Their mission
was to deliver the beautiful silks and
the palate-exciting spices which were
coming in cargoes from the Orient. To
enforce the royal ship dues later
king, in 1877, began the lowered castle
which Shakespeare makes the scene
for Hamlet At that time the bard was
thirteen years old so the castle was
probably nearly as much Of marvel
to him and to his public as the Wool
worth tower Is to u.s.. It Is interesting
to note that the United States was one
Of the signatories to the treaty in
1857 which abolished the sound due
and ended the usefulness Of cHamlet's'
castle.
"There are 1900 souls in Helsinsor
and all of them old enough to think
about 1t are sure that Shakespeare
came to their city as q wandering
player. Else how could he have de-
scribed the castle SO well and caught
the spirit Of the people so accurately!
The Kronborg, as the castle is called,
has platform for the guard and
ghost before 1t. Even the lobby to
the throne room and long flights of
stairs seem especially designed for the
wandering Ophelia. Certainly Shake
speare did much better by the geogra-
ply Of Denmark than of some other
countries. Bohemia (modern Czecho-
slovakia) would appreciate the sea-
coast he credited it with and no doubt
Venice would like to acquire the salt
water estuary to Milan which is
quickly dug in Two Gentlemen Of
Verona But in Hamlet he adhered
more closely to facts. DR.. Maurice
Francis Egan, American minister to
Denmark, saw Hamlet enacted, as it
can be and occasionally is, In the
courtyard Of the castle itself, the scene
Of the play.
More recently hotel proprietor has
erected monument on grave which
he calls Hamlet's. Tourists drop
flowers on 1t. But he pushed the story
little far when he exploited pool
naarhv nc tho nond whore fha mad