Helsingør municipality

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Kronborg Castle in Helsingør municipality, Denmark.
Kronborg Castle in Helsingør municipality, Denmark.

Helsingør municipality (variant English name: Elsinore municipality), is a municipality (Danish, kommune) in Region Hovedstaden 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 60,844 (2008). 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 Ålsgårde, Espergærde, Hellebæk, Hornbæk, Horneby, and Stenstrup.

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. The European routes E47 and E55 traverse the two cities.

Helsingør municipality was not merged with other municipalities due to the nationwide Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007).

[edit] History

Main article: Elsinore

The town as we know it today was founded in the 1420s by the Danish king Eric of Pomerania. He established the Sound Dues 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.

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