Tønsberg Fortress

Today I went a trip to Tønsberg, a small and beautiful city in the county Vestfold in Norway. When I came out from the train station I could see a stone tower upon a hill / mountain. I went there and looked a little closer..

Tønsberg is the oldest city in Norway, founded in 871. The stone tower marks an area that served as a stronghold since early in the towns history. We know this area was fortified at least from 1165. During the 13th century it was raised to become the largest fortification in Norway. It lost it's military importance in the late middle-ages and fall into disrepair. It was captured and burnt by swedish forces in 1503. But there was a time when this fortress was considered to be impossible to conquer. It served as protection for hundreds of years.

The stone tower that is standing today was finished in 1888.

The area was fortified again in 1940-45 when the german occupants saw how strategic this hill was placed. There are still some remains from this period.