I first encountered the Holger the Dane character (or Holger Danske) in the underground passageways of Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, Denmark. There, I found an immense statue of a sleeping warrior sitting in a chair with his sword and shield at the ready. I had not heard of Holger before my visit to Kronborg, but was immediately enraptured. Spotlights periodically turned on and off, brightly illuminating Holger in between periods of darkness, creating a breathtaking vision. Who was this man? What was he known for? Was he myth or history? So, I decided that I had to do a little bit of research.
Holger the Dane, The Legend
Interestingly, Holger the Dane (Holger Danske in Danish or Ogier le Danois in French) first appears in historic French texts. His first mention was a brief one in the early 1000s in the French poem, Chanson de Roland, about King Charlemagne. It wasn’t until the 1200s, in the French poem, La Chevalerie Ogier de Danemarche, where Holger was the main character that he really became well known.
In the late 1700s, Denmark was going through its own period of nationalism. The Danish wanted autonomy and independence from Norway, and wanted to stop the cultural influence coming in from Germany. In 1789, F.L.Æ. Kunzen’s wrote an opera about Holger titled Holger Danske, that immediately made him a national hero.
Holger is often compared to King Arthur of England in that there may be some truth behind the story, but it is mostly fiction. In fact, his sword, Cortana, was said to be inherited from Tristan, one of King Arthur’s knights.
The Man
The only historical text referencing a real life Holger was from a chronicle from Saint Martin’s monastery in Cologne, Germany. In the text, it read that the Saxons pillaged and destroyed the monastery. However, the monastery was subsequently rebuilt by Olger, the war leader of the Danes, along with some additional aid from Charlemagne, the King of the Franks. This possibly relates to the very first mention of Holger from the
In present day Landskrona, Sweden, there is a burial mound that is known as the Holger Danske mound. Historically, this area was part of Denmark. Of course, it is unknown at this time who exactly has been buried there.
Kronborg Castle
At Kronborg Castle, the concrete statue of Holger the Dane was made by Danish sculptor, Hans Peder Pedersen-Dan, in 1907. That year, Pedersen-Dan also made a second bronze version of the sculpture that is currently in a private collection. According to legend, Holger walked up to the castle immediately after saving France, where he sat down to sleep. There, in the underground casements of Kronborg Castle, Holger has been been sleeping for hundreds of years, but will wake up to defend Denmark if she is ever in need.
Where is He Located?
The Holger the Dane statue can be found in the underground passageways, or casemates, of Kronborg Castle in the town of Helsingør in Denmark. Helsingør is on the most eastern tip of Zealand Island, just across the Øresund Sound from Helsinborg, Sweden.