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How to get married at a world-famous Danish castle

The historic Kronborg Castle, famous as the setting of Shakespeare play Hamlet, is allowing a (very) limited number of drop-in weddings at its church this year for the first time.

Published: 8 June 2023 14:38 CEST
How to get married at a world-famous Danish castle
Denmark's world-famous Kronborg Castle in the town of Helsingør. Photo: Kronborg Slot

Happy couples who want to exchange vows at the spectacular location will have to act fast, however, with only a small number of slots available.

On one day only – September 9th – drop-in marriages will be conducted at the Slotskirken (Castle Church) within Kronborg.

The ecclesiastical marriage ceremonies will each last 15 minutes.

“It’s normally only possible for parishioners to get married here. Through these drop-in church marriages, we hope to open Kronborg Castle Church to more newlyweds,” castle priest Sigurd Victor Stubbergaard said in a press statement.

READ ALSO: Why do foreign couples head to Denmark to get married?

The drop-in weddings are a “unique opportunity to fulfil the dream of having a church wedding in a historic setting at Kronborg Castle,” Stubbergaard said.

“We also want to appeal to those who desire a shorter and more informal ceremony but where it is important to receive the church’s blessing of the marriage,” he said.

A total of 16 marriages will be conducted by Stubbergaard and church colleagues on the day. Couples are permitted to bring 15 guests.

Anyone interested in saying “ja” (“I do”) on the day in question should contact the deacon at St. Mary’s Church (Sct. Mariæ Kirke) in Helsingør to reserve a slot. A first-come, first-served basis applies.

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FAMILY

Birth rate among immigrants in Denmark falls below Danes, new data reveals

Women who have moved to Denmark from countries considered ‘non-Western’ are now having fewer children than Danes, according to new data.

Published: 12 April 2024 10:50 CEST
Birth rate among immigrants in Denmark falls below Danes, new data reveals

Figures from national agency Statistics Denmark, first reported by science journal Videnskab.dk, show that women in the statistical group “non-Western immigrants” have 1.4 children on average, while women with Danish heritage have 1.6 children on average.

The numbers are from 2023 and apply to the total number of children women have throughout their life.

The new data represents a reversal of a trend in recent years in which birth rates were lower for Danes, and were described as “surprising” by Professor Christian Albrekt Larsen of Aalborg University’s Sociology department.

“Traditionally, non-Western immigrants have pulled the birth rate in Denmark upwards. Now they have around the same fertility rate as Danish women,” Larsen told Videnskab.

Statistics from 1993 show that, 30 years ago, non-Western women in Denmark had an average of 3.4 children. Their birth rate has therefore halved over the course of three decades.

For statistical purposes, Statistics Denmark considers a person to be Danish if she or he has at least one parent who is a Danish citizen and was born in Denmark.

The trend is a sign that women of immigrant background have adapted culturally to Denmark’s welfare state according to Peter Fallesen, a research professor with the Rockwool Foundation who specialises in children and fertility.

“When you move to another country there is a cultural adaptation to the new country. In Denmark this is often about becoming less dependent on children, both in regard to labour and when you get older and need help,” Fallesen told Videnskab.

The research professor also noted that harder financial circumstances related to inflation and certain political decisions can affect the desire and options available to immigrant women who have children.

Falling birth rates have caused concern in a number of countries, including Denmark, where the average fertility rate in 2022 and 2023 was 1.5. A birth rate of 2.1 children per woman is considered to be necessary for a society to sustain itself.

Meanwhile, all EU countries along with Andorra, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Vatican are considered ‘Western’.

Everywhere else – all of Latin America, Africa and Asia, and some eastern European countries including Ukraine – is ‘non-Western’.

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