VARBERG - TO BE OR NOT TO BE

VARBERG – To Be or Not To Be

My visit to Varberg, Sweden

by SIMONE KUSSATZ, senior global correspondent

To be, or not to be. That is the question.
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer.
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
no more; and by a sleep to say we end. The
heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks.
That flesh is heir to, ‘tis a consummation
devoutly to be wish’d.

…are the opening lines of Hamlet’s speech. And couldn’t it have been possible that these thoughts might have been inspired by Shakespeare’s visit to a little city called Varberg, on the west coast of Sweden?

According to the knowledge of a Varberg public librarian, and author Kalle Svensson, Shakespeare had been among the guests who were in attendance at the funeral of Anders Bing, the Danish lord of the castle, and of the fortress of Varberg. Bing died in 1591. The King of Scottland, Jakob VI was also in attendance, visiting the funeral ceremonies on the way back from his own wedding in Norway.

The book, “Denmark, Hamlet and Shakespeare,” written by Cay Dollerup, and published in 1975 by the “Institut für Englische Sprache und Literatur Universität Salzburg, Austria,” tries to trace the geographical locations that Shakespeare must have traversed during his visit to Northern Europe.

My assumption that Varberg must have played a key role as the inspiration for the setting of his play derives mainly from the fact that two of the characters in HAMLET, Rosenkrantz and Gyldenstierne, may very well have been named after Erik Ottosen Rosencrantz (1557) and Morgens Gyldenstierne (1610), who were participators in the government of the Varberg castle.

Although authoritative Swedish author and bishop, Esaias Tegnér, described Varberg in 1826 as the least appealing place in Sweden, I on the other hand, was charmed by it. Of course, the idea of Shakespeare’s spirit still residing there helped, and especially, paired with the fairy tale winter landscape I had encountered during my visit on New Year’s Eve 2005.

In comparison to American cities, Varberg is quite old. It was chartered in 1100 and was conquered often by hostile armies. Aside from its beautiful fortress, Varberg is home to the first Viking graves, to the ruins of the old church of Träslov (a former parish church housed in the chapel of Varberg’s castle), and to the Varberg's kurort at Apelviken beach (a beautiful resort for relaxation), among others.

As an admirer of Scandinavian filmmakers and actors like Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullman, Lena Olin, Lasse Hallström and Ingmar Bergman, I would hope that one day, a film that captures the beauty of the city of Varberg is shown at the annual Scandinavian Film Festival in Los Angeles. The Festival is presented every year at the Writer’s Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. And if not, I think I would have to somehow try to follow in their footsteps, and it certainly would be a new challenge.