Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/562

 554 ELSINORE ELVAS the narrowest part of the Sound, here but 3 m. in width, opposite the Swedish town of Helsingborg. It commands the principal pas- sage between the Cattegat and the Baltic, and is the spot where the Sound dues (abolished in 1857) were formerly paid by all foreign vessels, except those of Sweden, navigating that chan- nel. The town is substantially but irregularly built on ground rising gradually from the shore. The harbor is very small, but has a depth of 18 ft. The roadstead is excellent, and is gen- erally crowded with vessels, and there is a large foreign commerce. Adjacent to the har- bor, on the N. E., on a tongue of land running out into the sea, is the castle of Kronborg, built by Frederick II. about 1580. Modern fortifications have since added to its strength. It is now chiefly used as a prison. Caroline Matilda, queen of Christian VII., was im- prisoned here until the interference of her brother, George III. of England. Under the Kronborg Castle. castle are casemates capable of holding 1,000 men. According to a popular tradition, Hol- ger Danske, the legendary hero of Denmark, resides in one of the subterranean vaults. In the courtyard of the castle is the lighthouse, showing a fixed light 113 ft. above the sea. A short distance N. W. of the town is the palace of Marienlyst (Mary's delight), once a royal residence, but now in private occupation. Near by is shown a pile of rocks, erroneously called the tomb of Hamlet, of whose story, as told by Shakespeare, Elsinore is the scene. Local industry is mostly engaged in the refin- ing of sugar and brandy, printing cottons, fishing, &c. ; and there is an extensive manu- factory of arms at Hammerwolle in the suburbs. Elsinore was erected into a city in 1425 ; was taken and burned by the forces of Liibeck in 1622, and was retaken in 1535 by Christian II. It was enlarged by Dutch colonists in 1576. The castle was taken Sept. 6, 1658, by the Swedes, under the orders of Wrangel, but was restored to the Danes in 1660. It failed to prevent the passage of the British fleet under Sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson as his second in command, in 1802. ELSSLER, Fanny and Therese, two sisters cele- brated as dancers, born in Vienna, Therese in 1808, Fanny in 1811. Fanny, the more famous, was instructed in the juvenile ballet corps of the Viennese theatre, and at the age of six made her appearance on the stage. Subse- quently she received instructions from Aumer, and a marked influence upon her general aesthe- tic culture was exercised by Baron Friedrich von Gentz. The two sisters went to Naples in 1827, and in 1830 made their first appear- ance at Berlin. Subsequently they went to Vienna and other cities, and on Sept. 19, 1834, they made their first appearance in Paris, in La tempete, a ballet adapted from Shakespeare's "Tempest" byAdolphe Nourrit. Fanny was ranked with Taglioni, then at the head of her profession in Paris, and she soon eclipsed her celebrated rival in the Spanish cachucha. In 1841 the sisters visit- ed the United States, where they met with brilliant success, and afterward went to Rus- sia. In 1851 Fanny re- tired from the stage with a large fortune, and purchased a villa near Hamburg. Her sister contracted in April, 1850, a morga- natic marriage with Prince Adalbert of Prussia (who died in 1873), and was enno- bled under the title of Frau von Barnim. ELTON, a salt lake in the government of Astrakan, Russia, 70 m. E. of the Volga, and 130 sq. m. in extent. It yields annually upward of 100,000 tons of salt, the collection of which gives employment to 10,000 persons. In the hottest season the crystallized salt along its banks and on its surface gives it the appearance of a vast sheet of ice or frozen snow. It is nowhere more than 15 inches deep. ELVAS, a fortified frontier city of Portugal, in the province of Alemtejo, 105 m. E. of Lisbon, and 10 m. W. of Badajoz, Spain, on a hill near the bank of the Guadiana; pop. about 10,000. It became a city in 1513, and was created a bishopric by Pius V. in 1570. It is an impor- tant stronghold, having an arsenal, and spacious bomb-proof barracks for 7,000 men. The fort of Lippe on a neighboring hill is consid- ered impregnable. The town itself is poor- ly built, and many of the venerable Moorish buildings which line its streets are crumbling to