In the darkness beneath Kronborg Castle, the legendary hero Holger Danske sleeps like a stone. According to myth, the great warrior wakes up when Denmark is in extreme danger, but until then he is mostly peaceful. So take a tour of the dark casemates and say hello to him!

"Where is he?", the boy asks when he and his family arrive at the Dark Gate, "Holger Danske, where is he?" For some visitors, this is the most pressing question when they visit Kronborg. The boy and his family quickly find the entrance and make their way down the dark tunnel.

A clammy, damp chill hits them, and deeper down, the glow of oil lamps flickers.

They step through the opening and there, right there, he sits, the great Holger Danske, calm and majestic. They stand for a moment and look, and then slowly walk closer.

Statue of Holger Danske at Kronborg Castle

The large statue of Holger Danske in the Casemates is a cast of the original bronze statue made by the Danish sculptor H. P. Pedersen-Dan in 1907. The cast of the statue of Holger Danske was first made in plaster, but as the humidity in the Casemates is very high, the plaster could not withstand it. The statue of Holger Danske that you visit down in the Casemates today was thus made of concrete in 1985.

Who is Holger Danske?

In the deep underground passages of the casemates, the national hero Holger Danske has slept for hundreds of years and, according to an old legend, he will only wake up on the day Denmark is threatened by enemies. Only then will he open his eyes, stand up and raise his sword.

The legend of Holger Danske goes back almost 1000 years. The first time we encounter Holger Danske (or Ogier le Danois) is in the French Rolandskvad, La Chanson de Roland, from 1060. Here, Holger Danske is a minor character and appears as one of Charlemagne's warriors. 

Later, Holger Danske becomes the protagonist of the heroic poem La Chevalerie d'Ogier de Danemarche (1200-1215), in which he is referred to as the son of Gudfred, king of Denmark and enemy of Charlemagne. Charlemagne takes Holger Danske hostage, but the noble Holger Danske returns and saves France before the decisive battle against the Saracens. After the heroic poem about his great exploits, he is often mentioned in European literature.

Holger Danske also appears in the Danish Chronicle (manuscript from 1480, first printed in 1509). The story of Holger Danske is told here with several additions, including from the folk song Holger Danske and Burmand.

In 1534, the Danish writer and publisher Christiern Pedersen published a translation of a French prose novel about Ogier (1496), entitled The Chronicles of King Olger Danski. It is this version of the tales of Holger Danske that ends up being the main source of the legends of Holger Danske as known to the Danes. The legends tell of the national hero Holger Danske and his great exploits, as well as how he emerges from his underground hideout to save the nation if it is in danger. In fact, the legends of Holger Danske became a favorite Danish folk book that lived on well into the 19th century. In the legends, Holger Danske appears in several different places in Denmark, but the story is gradually localized to the Casemates under Kronborg Castle. In 1846, a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen also places Holger Danske in the cellars of Kronborg. The fairy tale tells that if Denmark is in danger, Holger Danske will draw his sword and defend his homeland.

3 quick facts about Holger Danske