HELSINGØR

HELSINGØR, Denmark, a historical town at the northeastern
tip of the island of Sjælland, 50 km north of Copenhagen.
It is in a farming region on the west side of the 4 km wide
Øresund separating Denmark from Sweden. Helsingør grew up
around a Carmelite monastery, built under the auspices of Eric of
Pomerania in 1430, and Kronborg Castle, built by Frederik II
between 1574 and 1585. This castle, which was used to enforce the
toll assessed on ships passing through the sound, was the Elsinore of
Shakespeare's Hamlet. The toll, collected from 1425 until 1857, was
abandoned, after the refusal of the United States to pay it, for a sum
of USD 16 million, paid by the interested parties. Helsingør is the
terminus of a rail and auto ferry connecting Denmark with
Hälsingborg, Sweden; this line is the main railway link between
Sweden and southern Europe. The International Peoples's College is
located in Helsingør. The main industries are shipbuilding,
commercial distribution, and transportation. Pop. (est. 1990), 56.700.