Since early 17th century it has been a tradition to daily hoist the Danish flag, called Dannebrog, at sunrise at Kronborg Castle in Elsinore (Helsingør), Denmark, and lower the flag at sunset. At the start of the new year 2023 the palaces and culture agency of Denmark, Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen, scrapped this practice. They said it would save about one million Danish Crowns. The absence of the flag was quickly discovered.
The Danish tv-channel “TV 2” reported about the issue on Thursday 26 January 2023, as well as the local newspaper “Helsingør Daglad”. Only hours later the Danish Minister of Culture Jakob Engel-Schmidt said that as off Friday 27 January 2023 the flag would be flying at Kronborg again, as it is an important symbol of Danish history. He told “TV 2”: “It means a lot to them in Elsinore and to a lot of Danes. It is therefore a matter of political importance.” It seems he has found the budget to pay for the tradition.
