Fredriksten fortress
We are proud to be part of Fredriksten fortress’s long-standing history.
Throughout hundreds of years, people have fought here for what they believe in.
Experience a part of the history that has shaped our country and ensured that we are called Norway.
There are many ways to be one with History:
1.
Take your own walks on all the well-maintained hiking trails
3.
Join a guided tour with our knowledgeable guides
Now for some History!
Fredriksten fortress is dominantly positioned on a hill above Halden. Some of the most dramatic and bloody events in Norwegian war history have taken place here.
After one of the many wars between Sweden and Denmark/Norway, Norway had to cede Bohuslen to Sweden through a peace treaty in Roskilde in February 1658. But the war flared up again later that same year.
1658
The First 3 Attacks
The Swedes now attacked Halden 3 times over 18 months in the years 1658-1660. Their goal was to take a larger piece of Norway than just Bohuslen, which they had recently won. Around Halden at this time, there were only improvised defense installations. They were indeed reinforced and expanded between each attack, and all Swedish attempts to take the city were repelled after hard and bloody battles.
1961
Fredriksten is built
The construction of the permanent fortress Fredriksten began in 1661. Within about 10 years, the walls of what is now the Citadel, or Inner Fortress, were completed. The model was a modern bastion fortress, skillfully adapted to the mountainous terrain. After a break of around 10 years, construction phase 2 continued for about 20 years from 1682. Now several defense lines were built outside the Citadel + the 3 advanced outer forts Gyldenløve, Stortårnet, and Overberget. Between the city and the Citadel, a large area was surrounded by walls and palisades. It was called Borgerskansen, and was the “shelter” for the city’s inhabitants.
1716
Charles XII in 1716 and 1718
Among the many dramatic events here, undoubtedly the Swedish king Charles XII’s attacks in 1716 and 1718, and especially his death here during the last one, are the most famous and written about. 4. In July 1716, he failed in a surprise attack on the fortress. The Swedes had to settle for taking the almost unfortified city, but they weren’t left in peace there either.
The inhabitants set their city on fire, thereby driving out the occupants. This event inspired Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson to write the 4th verse in “Yes, We Love This Country”: “- for we would rather burn the land than come to fall. Remember only what happened down at Fredrikshald”. 4 days later, Tordenskjold captures Charles XII’s fleet of supply ships in Dynekilen, and the Swedes go home.
Charles XII returns at the end of November 1718 with a large army. He initiates a systematic attack on Fredriksten. The outer fort Gyldenløve is taken, and the Swedes dig and build trenches toward the Main Fortress. In the evening of December 11, Charles XII is right at the front where the digging is taking place. He lifts himself over the protective embankment to observe and is killed by a bullet straight through his head.
To this day, there is debate about whether the bullet was “honestly Norwegian” or came from an assassin in Swedish service. Regardless, the Swedes abandoned the attack, and the long Nordic War faded and ended a couple of years later.
1814
The War in 1814, Entering Union with Sweden
Denmark, as the losing party in the Napoleonic Wars, had to cede Norway to Sweden in the peace treaty of Kiel in January 1814. Norway opposed this, created its new constitution, and declared itself an independent nation. Sweden responded by invading Norway at the end of July.
For about 14 days, Fredriksten was under siege and bombardment, but it did not surrender. On August 14, a peace treaty was signed in Moss, and on August 15, the fighting stopped. Norway now entered into a union with Sweden. Fredriksten’s stubborn resistance had impressed the Swedes’ newly elected French crown prince and military leader Karl Johan, and as a result, the terms of the union agreement were far milder than they were intended to be. This made it easier to get OUT of the union again 91 years later! Fredriksten was now decommissioned as an operational border fortress.
1905
Decommissioned and Disarmed
The union with Sweden began to crack at the seams in the latter half of the 1890s. In the first years of the 1900s, Norway’s entire Defense was therefore heavily rearmed and modernized. In 1905, Fredriksten with new cannons was the most important and strongest of all border fortresses. In September, war was close, but fortunately, a peaceful dissolution of the union was negotiated. Fredriksten was now decommissioned and disarmed, but it was to be preserved as a national monument.
Fredriksten after 1905
After 1905, Fredriksten was the headquarters for several military schools and staffs. The last school was closed in 2005. During World War II, the Germans established a strong defensive position facing east, roughly between Gyldenløve and Overberget fort. In the depth of this, among many other things, concrete machine gun positions were created on the main fortress itself. These are still intact.
In 1999, Fredriksten was chosen as Østfold county’s Millennium Site. This brought the fortress into a new era as a cultural arena and meeting place. Now it is visited by 250-300,000 people per year. There are a number of major events such as concerts, the TV series “Allsang på Grensen” (Singalong at the Border), Opera Østfold with large productions every other year, car exhibitions, bicycle races, fine restaurants – and much more. But behind and above it all lies the glorious history in the walls. Fredriksten defended the fatherland for almost 250 years – with pride they say here: “Often besieged, never conquered”
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thomas
Korrektur
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