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Akershus Fortress or Akershus Castle (Akershus Festning, Akershus slott) is the old castle
Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
 built to protect Oslo
Oslo

is the Capital and largest List of cities in Norway in Norway.Metropolitan Oslo or the Greater Oslo Region makes up the third largest urban area in Scandinavia after Metropolitan Stockholm and Metropolitan Copenhagen....
, the capital of Norway
Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
. It has also been used as a prison
Prison

A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or internment and usually deprived of a range of personal Freedom ....
.

first work on the castle started around the late 1290s, by King Håkon V
Haakon V of Norway

Haakon V Magnusson was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319. He was married to Eufemia of R?gen, and father to Ingeborg H?konsdotter who married duke Eric Magnusson of Sweden....
, replacing Tønsberg
Tønsberg Fortress

T?nsberg Fortress is a fortress located in T?nsberg, Norway. T?nsberg was an important trading center, and was defended by the Norwegian Fortresses for over 700 years....
 as one of the two most important Norwegian castles of the period (the other being Båhus). It was constructed in response to the Norwegian nobleman, Earl Alv Erlingsson
Alv Erlingsson

Alv Erlingsson was a Norway baron and earl, born in Tornberg, Norderhov, Buskerud. It is said he was a favorite of the Queen, yet committed countless acts of piracy throughout his life including seizing and robbing Germany vessels, making an attack on Haakon V of Norway, the younger brother of the Norwegian king, and attacking Denmark....
 of Sarpsborg
Sarpsborg

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in ?stfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg....
’s earlier attack on Oslo.

fortress has successfully survived many sieges, primarily by Swedish
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
 forces.






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Akershus Fortress or Akershus Castle (Akershus Festning, Akershus slott) is the old castle
Castle

A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territor...
 built to protect Oslo
Oslo

is the Capital and largest List of cities in Norway in Norway.Metropolitan Oslo or the Greater Oslo Region makes up the third largest urban area in Scandinavia after Metropolitan Stockholm and Metropolitan Copenhagen....
, the capital of Norway
Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
. It has also been used as a prison
Prison

A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or internment and usually deprived of a range of personal Freedom ....
.

Construction

The first work on the castle started around the late 1290s, by King Håkon V
Haakon V of Norway

Haakon V Magnusson was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319. He was married to Eufemia of R?gen, and father to Ingeborg H?konsdotter who married duke Eric Magnusson of Sweden....
, replacing Tønsberg
Tønsberg Fortress

T?nsberg Fortress is a fortress located in T?nsberg, Norway. T?nsberg was an important trading center, and was defended by the Norwegian Fortresses for over 700 years....
 as one of the two most important Norwegian castles of the period (the other being Båhus). It was constructed in response to the Norwegian nobleman, Earl Alv Erlingsson
Alv Erlingsson

Alv Erlingsson was a Norway baron and earl, born in Tornberg, Norderhov, Buskerud. It is said he was a favorite of the Queen, yet committed countless acts of piracy throughout his life including seizing and robbing Germany vessels, making an attack on Haakon V of Norway, the younger brother of the Norwegian king, and attacking Denmark....
 of Sarpsborg
Sarpsborg

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in ?stfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg....
’s earlier attack on Oslo.

Military usage

The fortress has successfully survived many sieges, primarily by Swedish
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
 forces. In the early 17th c., the fortress was modernized and remodeled under the reign of the active King Christian IV, and got the appearance of a renaissance castle.

The fortress was first used in battle in 1308, when it was besieged by the Swedish duke Erik
Eric X of Sweden

Erik Knutsson , sometimes anachronistically numbered as Eric X was the King of Sweden between 1208 and 1216. He was the son of Knut Eriksson and his queen, whose name is unknown, but who very probably was a high-born Swedish noblewoman....
 of Södermanland
Södermanland

, sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden....
, who later in the same year won the Swedish throne. The immediate proximity of the sea was a key feature, for naval power
Navy

A navy is the branch of a nation's military forces principally designated for naval warfare and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions....
 was a vital military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 force
Force

In physics, a force is that which can cause an object with mass to change its velocity. Force has both Euclidean_vector#Length of a vector and Direction , making it a Vector quantity....
 as the majority of Norwegian commerce in that period was by sea. The fortress was strategically important for the capital, and therefore, Norway
Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
 as well. Whoever ruled Akershus fortress ruled Norway. The fortress has never been successfully captured by a foreign enemy. It surrendered without combat to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the colloquial English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party , which established a Totalitarianism dictatorship that existed from 1933 to 1945....
 in 1940 when the Norwegian government evacuated the capital in the face of the unprovoked German assault on Denmark
Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
 and Norway (see Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung

Operation Weser?bung was the code name for Nazi Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign....
). During World War II, several people were executed here by the German occupiers. After the war, eight Norwegian traitors who had been tried for war crimes and sentenced to death were also executed at the fortress. Among those executed was Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Quisling

Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonss?n Quisling was a Norway army officer and politician. He worked with Fridtjof Nansen during the famine in the Soviet Union, and served as Minister of Defence in the Senterpartiet government 1931-1933....
.

Prison

Akershus has also been a prison, a section of it known as Slaveriet (the Slavery) as the prisoners could be rented out for work in the city. It has housed many rebels and criminals through Norwegian history. Particularly well-known people to have been imprisoned there includes the semi-legendary "thief of the people
Robin Hood

Robin Hood is an archetype figure in English folklore, whose story originates from Middle Ages times but who remains significant in popular culture where he is known for robbing the rich to give to the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny....
" and author Gjest Baardsen (1791-1849), and the similarly idealized thief Ole Høiland. Also, many early Norwegian socialists (supporters of Marcus Thrane
Marcus Thrane

Marcus M?ller Thrane was the leader of the first Norway labour movement, later known as the Thranitterbevegelsen movement, which at its height had approximately 30,000 members, making it the third largest labour movement at the time, second only to those in France and the Trade unions in the United Kingdom, and the largest counting per capit...
, 1817-1890) also spent time in the cells of Akershus.

Kautokeino rebellion prisoners

Following the 1852 Laestadian Sámi revolt in Guovdageaidnu
Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu

The Sami revolt in Guovdageaidnu, also known as the Kautokeino Uprising, was a revolt in the town of Kautokeino in northern Norway in 1852 by a group of Sami people who attacked representatives of the Norwegian authorities....
, all men except the two leaders Aslak Hætta
Aslak Hætta

Aslak Jacobsen H?tta was one of the rebellion leaders of the Sami Kautokeino Uprising in November 1852. During the riots a merchant Carl Johan Ruth and sheriff Lars Johan Bucht were killed, and pastor Fredrik Waldemar Hvoslef whipped....
 and Mons Somby
Mons Somby

Mons Aslaksen Somby Somby was one of the leaders of the Sami rioters that attacked several Norwegian shops during the Kautokeino rebellion of 1852....
 (who were beheaded in Alta
Alta

Alta or ALTA may refer to:...
) ended up in Akershus Fortress - the women were imprisoned in Trondheim
Trondheim

is a city and Municipalities of Norway in S?r-Tr?ndelag Counties of Norway, Norway. The city of Trondheim was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 ....
. Many of the rebels died after a few years in captivity. Among the survivors was Lars Hætta (18 years at the time of imprisonment), who during his stay was allowed time and means to write the first translation of the Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 into North Sámi.

Current usage

Akershus fortress is still a military area, but is open to the public daily until 9pm. In addition to the castle, the Norwegian Armed Forces museum and the Norwegian Resistance museum can be visited there. The Norwegian Ministry of Defence
Norwegian Ministry of Defence

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence is a Norway government ministry in charge of the formation and implementation of national security and defence policy, and for the overall management and control of the activities of subordinate agencies....
 and Defence Staff Norway (armed forces headquarters) have a joint modern headquarter in the eastern part of Akershus Fortress. , Queen Maud, King Olav V
Olav V of Norway

Olav V was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death. Olav was born in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as the son of Prince Haakon VII of Norway and Princess Maud of the United Kingdom and given the names Alexander Edward Christian Frederik....
 and Crown Princess Märtha.]] Norwegian Royalty have been buried in the Royal Mausoleum in the castle. They include, King Sigurd I
Sigurd I of Norway

Sigurd I Magnusson , also known as Sigurd Jorsalfare was king of Norway from 1103 to 1130. He initially shared the throne with his brothers Eystein I of Norway and Olav Magnusson, but ruled alone from 1123....
, King Haakon V
Haakon V of Norway

Haakon V Magnusson was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319. He was married to Eufemia of R?gen, and father to Ingeborg H?konsdotter who married duke Eric Magnusson of Sweden....
, Queen Eufemia
Eufemia of Rügen

Eufemia G?ntersdotter was Queen Consort of Norway from 1299 to 1319. She is known for translating ballads.Eufemia was born as daughter of G?nther, Count of Arnstein, but grew up at the court of Wizlaw II, Prince of R?gen, her maternal grandfather....
, King Haakon VII
Haakon VII of Norway

Haakon VII was the first king of Norway after the Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 of the personal union with Sweden....
, Queen Maud, King Olav V
Olav V of Norway

Olav V was the King of Norway from 1957 until his death. Olav was born in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as the son of Prince Haakon VII of Norway and Princess Maud of the United Kingdom and given the names Alexander Edward Christian Frederik....
 and Crown Princess Märtha.

Commanders of Akershus fortress


The year is that in which they first took command.
  • 1629 Ove Gedde
  • 1654 Georg Reichwein
    Georg Reichwein

    Georg Reichwein, Jr. was a military government official. He was the son of general major Georg Reichwein, Sr., who immigrated in 1628 to Denmark-Norway from Hesse....
  • 1662 Hans Jacob Schort
  • 1670 Michael Opitz
  • 1676 Frants Eberhard von Speckhan
  • 1679 Ejler Jensen Visborg
  • 1680 Hans Brostrup Schort
  • 1687 Anton Coucheron
  • 1690 Nikolaj de Seve
  • 1706 Hans Frederik Legel
  • 1708 Ernst Bugislav Waldau
  • 1709 Johan Frederik Münnich
  • 1711 Nikolaj Sibbern
  • 1712 Jørgen Christopher von Klenow
    Jørgen Christopher von Klenow

    J?rgen Christopher von Klenow was a Dano-Norwegian officer born in Mecklenburg, and died in 1723 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was commandant of Akershus fortress, Oslo, Norway from 1712 through 1719....
  • 1719 Georg von Bertouch
    Georg von Bertouch

    Georg von Bertouch was a Germany-born Baroque music composer and military officer who dwelt during most of his adult life in Norway....
  • 1740 Johan Frederik Leben
  • 1744 Jonas Bjørnsen
  • 1762 Frans Grabow
  • 1772 Christopher Frederik Ingenhaeff
  • 1774 Hans Jacob Henning Hesselberg
  • 1806 Frederik Gotskalk Haxthausen
  • (incomplete)
  • at present Geir Holmenes


Facts and Figures

  • A portion of the fortress was replicated at the Norway (Epcot)
    Norway (Epcot)

    The Norway pavilion is part of the World Showcase within Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort....
     pavilion at Epcot Center theme park in Orlando, Florida.


Gallery




See also

  • List of buildings
    List of buildings

    This is a list of buildings and nonbuilding structures....
  • History of Norway
    History of Norway

    From around the time of the Roman Empire until about 800 AD, many stone inscriptions can be found, written in Runes. Apparently, the small kingdoms developed during these centuries....