Bergenhus Fortress
The Bergenhus Fortress in Bergen is one of the oldest and best preserved forts of Norway . The oldest parts of the fortress date from the 12th century, the newest parts from the Second World War .
history
Bergenhus Fortress is beautifully landscaped and strategically located at the entrance to Vågen Bay in Bergen. The area of the fortress was called Holmen in the Middle Ages . The terrain between the Holmen and the medieval Sverresborg , which was created in the 1180s, was a swamp area called Veisan (now Koengen ).
King Øystein Magnusson moved the Norwegian throne to Holmen in the 12th century and built a new royal court here. When the civil wars in the first half of Håkon Håkonsson's long reign (1217–1263) subsided and Norway consolidated, a stone fortress was built here. Bergen became Norway's capital with Holmen as its political center. Two of the buildings from this period are still in their place today: The Håkonshalle and Magnus Lagabøtes Castle as part of the Rosenkrantz Tower . Then there was a stone church, several stone halls, two gate forts and a fortress wall.
Around 1530, the castle captain Eske Bille had the fortress significantly expanded and an entire district near the castle, including next to the cathedral of the archbishop, the Christ Church, the Apostle Church, the canons' building and the bishop's court, demolished.
When the royal power was transferred to Denmark with the Danish-Norwegian personal union, Bergen lost its status as a royal seat . But the old royal court was still the political and administrative center for the Vestland and North-Norge . It was only with the introduction of absolutism in Denmark in 1660 that Bergenshus became a pure fortress. On August 2, 1665, the fortress took part in the Battle of Vågen .
During the 17th century the fortress was expanded and strengthened and was most complete around 1700 with Bergenhus and Sverresborg as a common fortress.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Sverresborg was again separated from the actual fortress area. The facility was redesigned to become a park and pleasure garden, while the defenses for Bergen were moved piece by piece from the city.
Nevertheless, the fortress remained a military facility, u. a. as the headquarters of the two Vestland regiments and a non-commissioned officer school from around 1911. After the German occupation of Norway in World War II, the fortress served as the local headquarters of the German Wehrmacht . Soviet prisoners of war built a concrete bunker here . On April 20, 1944, an accident occurred when the dynamite-laden Dutch ship Voorbode blew up and parts of the fortress were badly damaged.
After the liberation in 1945, Bergenhus became the headquarters of the Vestlandet district command. In 1996 the Bergenhus Festning Regiment took command of the fortress until its dissolution on September 30, 2002. Since then, the naval schools on the fortress have been in command.
Since 2002, other military facilities have been located here, such as the Accountability Administration of the Norwegian Armed Forces , the Defense Museum and the Home Guard District for Vestland . The Vestland Music Corps and the Bergen Military Service also have their headquarters in the fortress. Around 150 military employees work here.
Web links
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 60 ° 23 '58.8 " N , 5 ° 19' 2.8" E