Helsingør municipality

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Kronborg Castle in Helsingør municipality, Denmark.

Helsingør municipality, also referred to in English as Elsinore municipality, is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Frederiksborg County on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand (Sjælland) in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 122 km², and has a total population of 61,295 (2005). The municipality's mayor is Per Tærsbøl, a member of the Conservative People's Party political party.

The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Helsingør (also referred to in English as "Elsinore"). Other towns include Espergærde, Hellebæk, Hornbæk, Horneby, and Stenstrup.

Neighboring municipalities are Græsted-Gilleleje to the west and Fredensborg-Humlebæk to the south. To the east is the Øresund, the strait which separates Zealand from Sweden. To the north is the Kattegat.

Ferry service connects the municipality at the town of Helsingør east over the Øresund to the town of Helsingborg, Sweden. European route E55 traverses the two cities.

Helsingør municipality will not be merged with other municipalities by January 1, 2007 as the result of nationwide Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007).

[edit] The town of Helsingør

Main article: Helsingør

Elsinore as we know it today was founded in the 1420s by the Danish king Eric of Pomerania. He established the Sound Toll in 1429 and built the castle 'Krogen', which was made bigger in the 1580s and named Kronborg. Kronborg Castle, known internationally as the setting of William Shakespeare's theatre play Hamlet, is today the town's main tourist attraction.