Norske Løve (Horten)
Norske Løve is a fortress built in the 19th century on the island of Vealøs near Horten in the Oslofjord ( Norway ), about 80 km south of Oslo . The name (“Norwegian Lion”) refers to the national coat of arms of Norway .
The fortress was built in the years 1852-1859 under the direction of Balzar Nicolai Garben, in cooperation with the Citadellet fortress built in 1848-1851 on the peninsula Karljohansvern immediately to the south, in order to open the entrance to the bay of Horten and thus to Karljohansvern since 1828 to protect the naval shipyard and naval headquarters there.
investment
The fortress is a brick building reinforced with granite with a rectangular floor plan rounded off in a semicircle at the east and west ends . The outer wall forms a closed ring of casemates for 22 large-caliber guns . This casemate ring is surrounded by a dry fortress moat with a vertical countercarp and an outwardly sloping glacis . Inside the casemate ring, separated from it by a narrow ditch, is the accommodation building for the around 500-strong crew of the fortress, with the same rectangular shape, rounded at both ends. There was originally a roof battery with seven cannons on the building , but an additional storey with a gable roof was added by the German occupying forces during World War II . In the outer moat there are five capons from which the moat could be taken under fire.
Todays use
With the use of HE shells already emerging during its construction period , the fortress with its almost medieval fortifications was already out of date before its completion. It is now used by the Norwegian Navy as an administration building for their officers' school. The entire island of Vealøs, only about 0.1 square kilometers in size, connected to Karljohansvern and Horten by a bridge, is owned by the military and serves as a base for motor torpedo boats .
Web links
Coordinates: 59 ° 26 ′ 35.5 ″ N , 10 ° 29 ′ 23.6 ″ E