Destination Helsingør: Helsingør i rejsehistorisk perspektiv, c. 1500-1970

This article examines how the reasons for visiting Elsinore have changed over the centuries and investigates how Elsinore fits into the evolution of travel on a larger scale. Historically, Elsinore has been one of the most visited destinations in Denmark. Erik I founded the town as a destination when he granted its charter in 1426; it was intended to become a town for travelers. The majority of visitors were compelled to come to Elsinore to pay the sound toll, but this institution created a flow of people attracted to the town for its services and industry. Throughout the centuries, migrants, merchants, diplomats, soldiers, artisans, and common folk formed the foundation for the town’s existence. In turn, the many travelers – mainly traveling out of necessity rather than for pleasure – who arrived in Elsinore during the early modern period, unwittingly created a town that itself became an attraction to travelers. The rise of leisure travel almost coincided with the dismantling of the sound toll in 1857. Without the sound toll, the town was in dire need of a new source of income, and the tourists who flocked to the area became a part of the solution.