Gurre Castle
History
The castle was built in the 12th century. Four towers and a perimeter wall were added in the 1350s. It was first mentioned in court chronicles in 1364, when Pope Urban V sent a gift of relics to its chapel.
King Valdemar Atterdag died in the castle in 1375. Many stories, ballads, and poems have been made about Valdemar. The castle is associated with a legend about King Valdemar, his love for his beautiful mistress Tove Lille, who according to tradition stayed for a long time at Gurre Castle, and the resulting jealousy of his Queen Helvig of Schleswig.
Over the centuries, this core saga was enriched by other legends, eventually growing into a national myth of Denmark. The myth was put into poetical form by the Danish novelist and poet Jens Peter Jacobsen (1847–1885). A German translation of his poems forms the text of the cantata Gurre-Lieder by Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951).
Excavations
A partial excavation of the ruin took place in 1817. In 1835, a major excavation of the ruins took place, during which the remains were surveyed and mapped. Additional research took place in the 1890s. In 1921, the remains of a stone building were exposed. In the years 1936 to 1939, a restoration of the ruin was carried out.
References
- ^ "Gurre Slot". Helsingør Leksikon. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ "Valdemar Atterdag". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
- ^ "Arnold Schoenberg: Gurre-Lieder (1900–1903)" (work details) (in French and English). IRCAM.
- ^ Gurre-Lieder (Schoenberg): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- ^ Jørgen Steen Jensen. "Møntværkstedet på Gurre". danskmoent.dk. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
Further reading
- Etting, Vivian; Hvass, Lone; Boje Andersen, Charlotte (2003). Gurre slot : kongeborg og sagnskat (in Danish). Kbh.: Sesam. ISBN 87-11-22033-3. OCLC 464166262.