Vardøhus Fortress
Encyclopedia
Vardøhus Fortress is located in Vardø
municipality
in the county
of Finnmark
on the Barents Sea
on the mouth of the Varangerfjord
in north-eastern Norway
near the Russia
n border.
of Norway complained of clashes between the Norwegians and the Karelia
ns in northern Finnmark. A Norwegian embassy was dispatched to Novgorod where a treaty (the original of which is unfortunately now lost) was signed to conclude a peace between the two countries, including the Novgorod tributary land of Karelia.
The Finnmark coast was originally important as a source of furs from the trade with the Karelians, but this trade dropped off as the Hanseatic League
increased the fur trade through their Novgorod centre. Finnmark remained important as a fishery; the fish was shipped as stockfish
to Bergen and traded there with the Hansa merchants.
in 1306 and was called Varghoeya. It is not known how long this fort was manned, but in 1307 the Archbishop for Trondhjem
went to Vardøhus to consecrate the church. The earliest record still extant which defines the border between Norway and Russia is from 1326. In 1340 records show the Archbishop made further efforts to improve conditions there.
The Captain of Vardøhus owned a share of the fishery. In 1511 Erik Valkendorf, while visiting, wrote: “the country would not be habitable for Christians were it not that the catch of fish is so plentiful as to attract people to settle down there. And this dried fish, which they call ‘stockfish
,’ is so valuable and excellent that it is exported to nearly every Christian country.”
In 1583 the Norwegian rights to the Arctic Sea were formally recognized by England; the agreement stipulated that each vessel which passed into the White Sea
was to stop at Vardøhus to pay duty.
In 1597 Boris Godunov
('de facto' regent of Russia from 1584 to 1598 and Tsar from 1598 to 1605) wrote to Christian IV of Denmark and Norway
, asserting that Vardøhus and "the Lapp country (as far as Tromsø
) was from ancient times a perpetual patrimony of the Czar.” In 1600 Gudunov refused to ratify the Treaty of Tyavzino
which resolved conflicting Swedish and Russian claims to the Kola peninsula
to the east of Vardøhus as well as other territories both claimed. This treaty did not acknowledge the Norwegian presence at Vardøhus or the Norwegian claims to this territory. As a result of these border conflicts with Russia, Christian IV of Denmark
-Norway asserted Norway’s historic ownership and visited Vardøhus in 1599 to instruct the governor of Vardøhus to collect taxes from Russians in his province including the Kola peninsula and to exclude the Swedes
, who were also attempting to claim the territory based on the Treaty of Tyavzino. At this time Vardøhus was so decrepit that he continued to live onboard his ship, Victor. His name has been preserved as it was carved on a beam from the 1599 fort to commemorate the visit.
. The Second World War
saw the fortress used as an anti-aircraft
site and as a POW camp
before the German occupation
.
Vardøhus Fortress was an active unit under the command of Naval District no. 3 in Tromsø
. For a time during the Winter War
15-20 Finnish soldiers were interned at the fortress after being pushed across the border from Northern Finland by Soviet offensives.
The weapons at the disposal of the garrison in 1940 were:
During the evening of 9 April 1940 Capt. Basilier received orders to mobilize a small number of additional soldiers to guard the fortress. With the announcement of general mobilization on 11 April further troops were called in for service.
Captain Basilier, who had been suffering from poor health since Easter that year, took sick leave on 13 April and was replaced by Navy Lieutenant B. Bjerkelund. From this date a full mobilization was carried out in the Vardø area, in addition the members of the local rifle association were deployed to guard duty at important objectives. Soon the entire island was under guard, and coast guard and air observation posts were operational. All the different outposts were connected to the fortress via telephone lines. The machine guns at the fortress were readied for use with improvised anti-aircraft mounts produced by a local blacksmith
.
A few days after the full mobilization began a force of 150 men were at the disposal of the commander of Vardøhus and by the 10 June cease-fire around 215 men sorted under Vardøhus Fortress.
On 20 April 1940 the commander in chief of Northern Norway, General Carl Gustav Fleischer
, issued orders to the 3rd Naval District that an internment camp for German prisoners of war
was to be established at Vardøhus.
Four days later, on 24 April, the 1,382 ton steamer Nova arrived in port with 155 German POWs. Most of the German prisoners were crew members from the Kriegsmarine
destroyer
Erich Koellner
sunk at Djupvik on the southern side of the Ofotfjord
during the Battles of Narvik
. The prisoners included the destroyer's commander, Fregattenkapitän
Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs
. The prisoners were housed under guard at the Quarantine Detention building. The POW camp at Vardøhus was closed down after a central POW camp
for German detainees was established at Skorpa in Troms
and the 155 prisoners shipped to Skorpa on the Nova on 13 May. Nova was escorted southwards by the patrol boat Ingrid – a captured German trawler operated by the Royal Norwegian Navy. The prisoners were released from Skorpa on 12 June 1940, after the mainland Norwegian capitulation.
Other military activities at the fortress included the establishment of a 12-bed field hospital
and a radio station. From 23 May the fortress came under the command of the newly established East Finnmark Naval District responsible for all RNoN units in eastern Finnmark.
The fortress' sole action with the German invasion forces came on 4 June 1940. Since early May German aircraft had overflown the area without incident, but on 4 June a single Luftwaffe bomber made an attack. The bomber missed its intended target, the radio station, but damaged the church and the commandant's quarters. After expending its bomb load the bomber went low and strafed
the area, riddling the radio hut and other buildings with bullets. In response to the attack Corporal Olav Børve returned fire using the 65 mm Hotchkiss gun with case-shot, firing 13 rounds. After a while the fortress' machine guns also fired back at the aircraft. With at least one of the case-shot rounds damaging the German bomber's hull it limped away from the area with a wounded navigator
.
Following the attack work began on the construction of a new anti-aircraft position on the nearby hill Kirkeberget. The position was completed but no armaments were installed before the cease-fire came into effect.
that same day on the patrol boat Nordhav II. Bjerkelund was replaced as commander by coastal artillery
lieutenant H. Johannesen later in the day. Of the ten officers and NCO
s and 214 men at the fortress all but 12 of the men were demobilized on 9 June. The officers, NCOs and the dozen privates were to continue to serve until the arrival of German occupation forces.
With the first Germans arriving only on 17 July, Vardøhus became the last armed unit under a Norwegian flag
to lay down their arms during the Norwegian Campaign
. This occurred on 20 July, when German soldiers took down the Norwegian flag. Between 20 and 25 July no flag flew over Vardøhus, as the Germans had ordered the Norwegian soldiers not raise the flag again.
However, since the Norwegian interpreted the order as only to not raise the State flag, they instead raised the Civil ensign on 25 July. From that day until 7 November the Norwegian flag flew at least part of every day, five times being removed by German soldiers who raised their own, which was replaced when they left. Each time the Nazi flag was burnt.
During this time Captain Rynning was the fortress commander and served as a symbol of Norwegian sovereignty and as a buffer between German military authorities and the Norwegian military and civilian authorities. This, and "the flag war", continued until Rynning was arrested on the order of Reichskommissar
Josef Terboven
on 7 November. Rynning spent the next two years as a political prisoner
at Grini and Møllergata 19
in Norway. In December 1942 Rynning was given prisoner of war status and deported to camps
in Germany and Poland for the rest of the war, returning on 7 June 1945.
. Vardøhus was utilised by the occupiers as a barracks
for the crews manning the modern German-built fortifications. In 1944, as the Germans retreated from Finland
through Finnmark before the advancing Russian armies, General Lothar Rendulic
ordered a scorched earth
policy. Vardø was burned, with only a few houses remaining. Even though the German coastal artillery batteries were demolished before the Germans left, Vardøhus was left intact, although in a miserable state of disrepair.
in the post-war legal purge
. In 1947 Vardøhus was returned to fortress status manned by a commander and a few privates.
, with a commander and four soldiers stationed there. Today the fort has few practical military purposes and serves primarily as a salute fortress
, firing gun salutes on Norwegian Constitution Day
(17 May), dissolution of the Union with Sweden Day (7 June) and on all royal birthdays.
The fortress is unique for the fact that on the winter day that the sun can again be seen from the fortress walls after the period of continuous darkness the fortress guns fire a two round salute. The gun shots announce to the school pupils of Vardø that they have the rest of the day off in celebration of the return of the sun.
Vardø
is a town and a municipality in Finnmark county in the extreme northeast part of Norway.Vardø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . The law required that all cities should be separated from their rural districts, but because of a low population and very few voters, this was...
municipality
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
in the county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
of Finnmark
Finnmark
or Finnmárku is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, and the Barents Sea to the north and northeast.The county was formerly known as Finmarkens...
on the Barents Sea
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...
on the mouth of the Varangerfjord
Varangerfjord
The Varangerfjord in the county of Finnmark, is the easternmost fjord in Norway. It is approximately long. In a strict sense, it is a false fjord, as it does not have the hallmarks of a fjord carved by glaciers....
in north-eastern Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
near the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n border.
History
In 1251 an embassy from the Republic of Novgorod to king Haakon IV HaakonsonHaakon IV of Norway
Haakon Haakonarson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....
of Norway complained of clashes between the Norwegians and the Karelia
Karelia
Karelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
ns in northern Finnmark. A Norwegian embassy was dispatched to Novgorod where a treaty (the original of which is unfortunately now lost) was signed to conclude a peace between the two countries, including the Novgorod tributary land of Karelia.
The Finnmark coast was originally important as a source of furs from the trade with the Karelians, but this trade dropped off as the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
increased the fur trade through their Novgorod centre. Finnmark remained important as a fishery; the fish was shipped as stockfish
Stockfish
Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks on the foreshore, called "hjell". The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage life of several years...
to Bergen and traded there with the Hansa merchants.
Varghoeya
The first fortification was erected by Haakon V MagnussonHaakon V of Norway
Haakon V Magnusson was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319.-Biography:Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Haakon was descended from king Saint Olav and is considered to have been the last Norwegian king in the Fairhair...
in 1306 and was called Varghoeya. It is not known how long this fort was manned, but in 1307 the Archbishop for Trondhjem
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
went to Vardøhus to consecrate the church. The earliest record still extant which defines the border between Norway and Russia is from 1326. In 1340 records show the Archbishop made further efforts to improve conditions there.
Østervågen
The second fortification to be built was Østervågen (East Bay) which was erected between 1450 and 1500. This fortification was rectangular with two corner bastions. It appears on various maps from the 14th and 15th century.The Captain of Vardøhus owned a share of the fishery. In 1511 Erik Valkendorf, while visiting, wrote: “the country would not be habitable for Christians were it not that the catch of fish is so plentiful as to attract people to settle down there. And this dried fish, which they call ‘stockfish
Stockfish
Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks on the foreshore, called "hjell". The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage life of several years...
,’ is so valuable and excellent that it is exported to nearly every Christian country.”
In 1583 the Norwegian rights to the Arctic Sea were formally recognized by England; the agreement stipulated that each vessel which passed into the White Sea
White Sea
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
was to stop at Vardøhus to pay duty.
In 1597 Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov
Boris Fyodorovich Godunov was de facto regent of Russia from c. 1585 to 1598 and then the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. The end of his reign saw Russia descend into the Time of Troubles.-Early years:...
('de facto' regent of Russia from 1584 to 1598 and Tsar from 1598 to 1605) wrote to Christian IV of Denmark and Norway
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
, asserting that Vardøhus and "the Lapp country (as far as Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
) was from ancient times a perpetual patrimony of the Czar.” In 1600 Gudunov refused to ratify the Treaty of Tyavzino
Treaty of Tyavzino
The Treaty of Teusina, Tyavzin or Tyavzino , also known as the Eternal Peace with Sweden in Russia, was concluded by Russian diplomats under boyar Afanasiy Pushkin and ambassadors of the Swedish king at the village of Tyavzino in Ingria on May 18, 1595 to end the Russo-Swedish War between the...
which resolved conflicting Swedish and Russian claims to the Kola peninsula
Kola Peninsula
The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...
to the east of Vardøhus as well as other territories both claimed. This treaty did not acknowledge the Norwegian presence at Vardøhus or the Norwegian claims to this territory. As a result of these border conflicts with Russia, Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
-Norway asserted Norway’s historic ownership and visited Vardøhus in 1599 to instruct the governor of Vardøhus to collect taxes from Russians in his province including the Kola peninsula and to exclude the Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, who were also attempting to claim the territory based on the Treaty of Tyavzino. At this time Vardøhus was so decrepit that he continued to live onboard his ship, Victor. His name has been preserved as it was carved on a beam from the 1599 fort to commemorate the visit.
Vardøhus
By the 1730s Vardøhus had become decrepit. The seat of government of Finnmark was transferred from Vardøhus to Altengaard. Major upgrades to the current fortress began in 1738.Modern history
Vardøhus never saw enemy action until the 20th century. The last time the fortifications were on active anti-invasion duty was during the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
saw the fortress used as an anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
site and as a POW camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
before the German occupation
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
.
The Second World War
During the period from the beginning of the Second World War to the German invasion of NorwayOperation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
Vardøhus Fortress was an active unit under the command of Naval District no. 3 in Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
. For a time during the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
15-20 Finnish soldiers were interned at the fortress after being pushed across the border from Northern Finland by Soviet offensives.
Norwegian Campaign
At the outbreak of the German invasion on 9 April 1940 Vardøhus was under the command of Captain J. B. Basilier. The garrison consisted of one retired lieutenant, two privates, ten non-combatant military personnel and two civilians.The weapons at the disposal of the garrison in 1940 were:
- Four Krupp m/1887 8.4 cm field guns
- Two turn-of-the-century model 37 mm ArmstrongArmstrong WhitworthSir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...
cannon (on loan from the Royal Norwegian NavyRoyal Norwegian NavyThe Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
since 1914) - One HotchkissHotchkiss et CieSociété Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie was a French arms and car company established by United States engineer Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, who was born in Watertown, Connecticut. He moved to France and set up a factory, first at Viviez near Rodez in 1867, then at Saint-Denis near...
m/1896 65 mm cannonHotchkiss gunThe Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch light mountain gun; there was also a 3-inch Hotchkiss gun... - One MaximHiram Stevens MaximSir Hiram Stevens Maxim was an American-born inventor who emigrated to England at the age of forty-one, although he remained an American citizen until he became a naturalized British subject in 1900. He was the inventor of the Maxim Gun – the first portable, fully automatic machine gun – and the...
m/1898 37 mm autocannonAutocannonAn autocannon or automatic cannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine gun. Autocannons often have a larger caliber than a machine gun . Usually, autocannons are smaller than a field gun or other artillery, and are mechanically loaded for a... - Initially one heavy machine gunHeavy machine gunThe heavy machine gun or HMG is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I...
of unknown make, several more added to the arsenal during the campaign - Two m/1915 Madsen machine gunMadsen machine gunThe Madsen was a light machine gun developed by Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schoubue and proposed for adoption by Captain Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen, the Danish Minister of War and adopted by the Danish Army in 1902...
s in 6,5 mm Krag calibre
During the evening of 9 April 1940 Capt. Basilier received orders to mobilize a small number of additional soldiers to guard the fortress. With the announcement of general mobilization on 11 April further troops were called in for service.
Captain Basilier, who had been suffering from poor health since Easter that year, took sick leave on 13 April and was replaced by Navy Lieutenant B. Bjerkelund. From this date a full mobilization was carried out in the Vardø area, in addition the members of the local rifle association were deployed to guard duty at important objectives. Soon the entire island was under guard, and coast guard and air observation posts were operational. All the different outposts were connected to the fortress via telephone lines. The machine guns at the fortress were readied for use with improvised anti-aircraft mounts produced by a local blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
.
A few days after the full mobilization began a force of 150 men were at the disposal of the commander of Vardøhus and by the 10 June cease-fire around 215 men sorted under Vardøhus Fortress.
POW camp
On 20 April 1940 the commander in chief of Northern Norway, General Carl Gustav Fleischer
Carl Gustav Fleischer
Carl Gustav Fleischer KCB was a Norwegian general and the first land commander to win a major victory against the Germans in the Second World War...
, issued orders to the 3rd Naval District that an internment camp for German prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
was to be established at Vardøhus.
Four days later, on 24 April, the 1,382 ton steamer Nova arrived in port with 155 German POWs. Most of the German prisoners were crew members from the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
destroyer
German World War II destroyers
At the outbreak of the Second World War, the German Navy, the Kriegsmarine, had 21 destroyers . These had all been built in the 1930s, making them modern vessels...
Erich Koellner
German destroyer Z13 Erich Koellner
Z13 Erich Koellner was a built for the German Navy in the late 1930s. At the beginning of World War II, the ship was still working up. In early 1940 she made two successful minelaying sorties off the English coast that claimed six merchant ships...
sunk at Djupvik on the southern side of the Ofotfjord
Ofotfjord
Ofotfjord or Narvik Fjord, an inlet of the Norwegian sea north of the Arctic circle, is Norway's 12th longest fjord, long, and the 18th deepest, with a maximum depth of . Along the shores of this fjord is the major town of Narvik...
during the Battles of Narvik
Battles of Narvik
The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April-8 June 1940 as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian city of Narvik as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War....
. The prisoners included the destroyer's commander, Fregattenkapitän
Frigate Captain
Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries.It is, usually, equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander.Countries using this rank include Argentina and Spain , France , Belgium , Italy ,...
Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs
Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs
Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs was a Kapitän zur See with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.1924 Oct.: Vermessungsschiff "Panther"....
. The prisoners were housed under guard at the Quarantine Detention building. The POW camp at Vardøhus was closed down after a central POW camp
Skorpa prisoner of war camp
Skorpa prisoner of war camp was a facility built by the Norwegian 6th Division to hold German prisoners-of-war during the 1940 Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War...
for German detainees was established at Skorpa in Troms
Troms
or Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
and the 155 prisoners shipped to Skorpa on the Nova on 13 May. Nova was escorted southwards by the patrol boat Ingrid – a captured German trawler operated by the Royal Norwegian Navy. The prisoners were released from Skorpa on 12 June 1940, after the mainland Norwegian capitulation.
Other military activities at the fortress included the establishment of a 12-bed field hospital
Field hospital
A field hospital is a large mobile medical unit that temporarily takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent hospital facilities...
and a radio station. From 23 May the fortress came under the command of the newly established East Finnmark Naval District responsible for all RNoN units in eastern Finnmark.
Air attack
The fortress' sole action with the German invasion forces came on 4 June 1940. Since early May German aircraft had overflown the area without incident, but on 4 June a single Luftwaffe bomber made an attack. The bomber missed its intended target, the radio station, but damaged the church and the commandant's quarters. After expending its bomb load the bomber went low and strafed
Strafing
Strafing is the practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. This means, that although ground attack using automatic weapons fire is very often accompanied with bombing or rocket fire, the term "strafing" does not specifically include the...
the area, riddling the radio hut and other buildings with bullets. In response to the attack Corporal Olav Børve returned fire using the 65 mm Hotchkiss gun with case-shot, firing 13 rounds. After a while the fortress' machine guns also fired back at the aircraft. With at least one of the case-shot rounds damaging the German bomber's hull it limped away from the area with a wounded navigator
Flight officer
The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Armed Forces where it was an air force warrant officer rank. It was also an air force rank in several Commonwealth nations where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of flight lieutenant...
.
Following the attack work began on the construction of a new anti-aircraft position on the nearby hill Kirkeberget. The position was completed but no armaments were installed before the cease-fire came into effect.
Surrender and transitional period
On 8 June Lieutenant Bjerkelund was informed that the fighting in Norway was coming to a close and given the opportunity to evacuate to the UK. Seizing this option, Bjerkelund left for RosythRosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
that same day on the patrol boat Nordhav II. Bjerkelund was replaced as commander by coastal artillery
Coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications....
lieutenant H. Johannesen later in the day. Of the ten officers and NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s and 214 men at the fortress all but 12 of the men were demobilized on 9 June. The officers, NCOs and the dozen privates were to continue to serve until the arrival of German occupation forces.
"Flag war"
With the first Germans arriving only on 17 July, Vardøhus became the last armed unit under a Norwegian flag
Flag of Norway
The flag of Norway is red with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark.- History :...
to lay down their arms during the Norwegian Campaign
Norwegian Campaign
The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...
. This occurred on 20 July, when German soldiers took down the Norwegian flag. Between 20 and 25 July no flag flew over Vardøhus, as the Germans had ordered the Norwegian soldiers not raise the flag again.
However, since the Norwegian interpreted the order as only to not raise the State flag, they instead raised the Civil ensign on 25 July. From that day until 7 November the Norwegian flag flew at least part of every day, five times being removed by German soldiers who raised their own, which was replaced when they left. Each time the Nazi flag was burnt.
During this time Captain Rynning was the fortress commander and served as a symbol of Norwegian sovereignty and as a buffer between German military authorities and the Norwegian military and civilian authorities. This, and "the flag war", continued until Rynning was arrested on the order of Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar
Reichskommissar , in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and the Nazi Third Reich....
Josef Terboven
Josef Terboven
Josef Antonius Heinrich Terboven was a Nazi leader, best known as the Reichskommissar during the German occupation of Norway.-Early life:...
on 7 November. Rynning spent the next two years as a political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
at Grini and Møllergata 19
Møllergata 19
Møllergata 19 is an address in Oslo, Norway where the city's main police station and jail was located. The address gained notoriety during the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, when the Nazi security police kept its headquarters here...
in Norway. In December 1942 Rynning was given prisoner of war status and deported to camps
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
in Germany and Poland for the rest of the war, returning on 7 June 1945.
German occupation
During the occupation the Germans improved the fortifications in the Vardø area, amongst other things building two coastal artillery batteriesArtillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
. Vardøhus was utilised by the occupiers as a barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
for the crews manning the modern German-built fortifications. In 1944, as the Germans retreated from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
through Finnmark before the advancing Russian armies, General Lothar Rendulic
Lothar Rendulic
Generaloberst Lothar Rendulic was an Austro-Hungarian and Austrian Army officer of Croatian origin who served as a German general during World War II. He commanded the 14. Infanterie-Division, 52. Infanterie-Division, XXXV Armeekorps, 2. Panzer-Armee, 20...
ordered a scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
policy. Vardø was burned, with only a few houses remaining. Even though the German coastal artillery batteries were demolished before the Germans left, Vardøhus was left intact, although in a miserable state of disrepair.
Prison
During the immediate post-war period, from 1945 to 1947, the fortress was demilitarised and used as a prison for people convicted of treasonTreason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
in the post-war legal purge
Legal purge in Norway after World War II
When the occupation of Norway ended in May 1945, several thousand Norwegians and foreign citizens were tried and convicted for various acts that the occupying powers sanctioned...
. In 1947 Vardøhus was returned to fortress status manned by a commander and a few privates.
Salute fortress
The command of the fort is now the responsibility of the Royal Norwegian NavyRoyal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy is the branch of the Norwegian Defence Force responsible for naval operations. , the RNoN consists of approximately 3,700 personnel and 70 vessels, including 5 heavy frigates, 6 submarines, 14 patrol boats, 4 minesweepers, 4 minehunters, 1 mine detection vessel, 4 support...
, with a commander and four soldiers stationed there. Today the fort has few practical military purposes and serves primarily as a salute fortress
21-gun salute
Gun salutes are the firing of cannons or firearms as a military or naval honor.The custom stems from naval tradition, where a warship would fire its cannons harmlessly out to sea, until all ammunition was spent, to show that it was disarmed, signifying the lack of hostile intent...
, firing gun salutes on Norwegian Constitution Day
Norwegian Constitution Day
Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday observed on May 17 each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttende mai or syttande mai , Nasjonaldagen or Grunnlovsdagen , although the latter is less frequent.- Historical...
(17 May), dissolution of the Union with Sweden Day (7 June) and on all royal birthdays.
The fortress is unique for the fact that on the winter day that the sun can again be seen from the fortress walls after the period of continuous darkness the fortress guns fire a two round salute. The gun shots announce to the school pupils of Vardø that they have the rest of the day off in celebration of the return of the sun.
Commanding officers
(incomplete listing)- John CunninghamJohn Cunningham (explorer)John Cunningham was a Scottish explorer who served under the Danish flag. He is most noted for his role in King Christian IV's Expeditions to GreenlandIn Denmark he was known as Hans Køning. In 1603 he became a captain in the Danish navy...
(1619–1651) - Captain Trost (1802–1807)
- Captain Ole Brock (–June 24, 1812)
- Christian Hiorth (June 24, 1812–1815)
- Captain Johan Frey (1815–)
- Lieutenant Haldor Lykke (1831?)
- First Lieutenant Ross Peter Heiberg (born 1789–died 1838) July 12, 1833–November 2, 1838)
- First Lieutenant M. B. Hall (1854–)
- Captain Carl Schultz (1867–)
- Major M. C. Arnesen (1884–1914)
- Major A. F. Holster (1915–1934)
- Captain J. B. Basilier (1935–13 April 1940)
- Lieutenant (Navy) B. Bjerkelund (13 April–8 June 1940)
- Lieutenant H. Johannesen (8–18 June 1940)
- Captain (Navy) Ronald Rye Rynning (June 18, 1940–November 7, 1940)
- 1945–1947: No commander, used as prison.
- Lieutenant Commander P. M. Jakobsen (1974–1980)
- Lieutenant Commander Per Evensen (1980–1987)
- Lieutenant Commander F. Th. Erichsen (1987–1988)
- Lieutenant Commander A. Hallaren (1988–1991)
- Lieutenant Commander S. H. Kristiansen (1991–1993)
- Lieutenant Commander R. S. Kvien (1993–)
- Commander Ivar Olaf Halse (–June 2003)
- Commander Lasse Haughom (June 2003–June 2005)
- Commander Lars Andreas Rognan (June 2005-August 2008–)
- Major Tor Arild Melby ( August 2008 - )