Vardøhus Fortress ( no, Vardøhus festning) is located in
Vardø Municipality in
Troms og Finnmark
Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...
county,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. It is located in the town of
Vardø
( fi, Vuoreija, fkv, Vuorea, se, Várggát) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway, more to the east than Saint Petersburg or Istanbul. The administr ...
on the island of
Vardøya on the
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...
near the mouth of the
Varangerfjord
The Varangerfjord ( en, Varanger Fjord; russian: Варангер-фьорд, Варяжский залив; fi, Varanginvuono; sme, Várjavuonna) is the easternmost fjord in Norway, north of Finland. The fjord is located in Troms og Finnmark co ...
in northeastern
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
near the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n border.
History
In 1251, an embassy from the
Republic of Novgorod
The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...
to King
Haakon IV Haakonson of Norway complained of clashes between the Norwegians and the
Karelians in northern Finnmark. A Norwegian embassy was dispatched to Novgorod where a treaty (the original of which is now lost) was signed to conclude a peace between the two countries, including the Novgorod tributary land of Karelia.
[Stagg 1952: p. 61-63]
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
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
and traded there with the Hansa merchants.
Varghøya
The first
fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...
was erected by
Haakon V Magnusson
Haakon V Magnusson (10 April 1270 – 8 May 1319) ( non, Hákon Magnússon; no, Håkon Magnusson, label=Modern Norwegian) was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319.
Biography
Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, Kin ...
in 1306 and was called ''Varghøya''. It is not known how long this fort was manned, but in 1307 the Archbishop of
Trondhjem
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
went to Vardøhus to consecrate the new
Vardø 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.
[Stagg 1952: p. 61-65]
Østervågen
The second fortification to be built was in Østervågen (the "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. While visiting the fort in 1511, Erik Valkendorf 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."
[Stagg 1952: p. 75]
In 1583, the Norwegian rights to the
Arctic Sea were formally recognized by
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
; the agreement stipulated that each vessel which passed into the
White Sea
The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...
was to stop at Vardøhus to pay duty.
[Stagg 1952: p. 83]
In 1597,
Boris Godunov ('de facto' regent of Russia from 1584 to 1598 and
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
from 1598 to 1605) wrote to King
Christian IV of Denmark and Norway
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...
, asserting that Vardøhus and "the Lapp country (as far as
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...
) was from ancient times a perpetual patrimony of the Czar." In 1600, Godunov refused to ratify the
Treaty of Tyavzino which resolved conflicting Swedish and Russian claims to the
Kola peninsula
sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк
, image_name= Kola peninsula.png
, image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast
, image_size= 300px
, image_alt=
, map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...
to the east of Vardøhus as well as other territories both claimed. This treaty did not acknowledge the Norwegian presence at Vardøhus nor the Norwegian claims to this territory. As a result of these border conflicts with Russia, King
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...
-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.
[Stagg 1952: p. 84-90] At this time, Vardøhus was so decrepit that he continued to live on board his ship, ''Victor''. His name has been preserved as it was carved on a beam from the 1599 fort to commemorate the visit. As a further effort at improving his hold on Finnmark, Christian IV built the fortress of
Altenhus near
Alta in 1610.
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 did not see enemy action until the 20th century. The last time the fortifications were on active anti-invasion duty was during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
saw the fortress used as an
anti-aircraft site and as a
POW camp
A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war.
There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...
before
the German occupation.
[Fjeld 1999, p. 211]
Second World War
During the period from the beginning of the Second World War to the
German invasion of Norway
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**G ...
, Vardøhus Fortress was an active unit under the command of Naval District no. 3 in
Tromsø
Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.
Tromsø lies in Northern Norway. The municipality is the ...
. For a time during the
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
, 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 Johan Basilier 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
Armstrong cannon (on loan from the
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...
since 1914)
* One
Hotchkiss m/1896
65 mm cannon
* One
Maxim
Maxim or Maksim may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine
** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition
** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition
*Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
m/1898 37 mm
autocannon
* Initially one
heavy machine gun
A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...
of unknown make, several more added to the arsenal during the campaign
* Two m/1915
Madsen machine gun
The Madsen is a light machine gun that Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schouboe designed and proposed for adoption by Colonel Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen, the Danish Minister of War, and that the Royal Danish Army adopted in 1902. It was the wo ...
s in
6.5×55mm Krag calibre
During the evening of 9 April 1940 Captain 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 blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
.
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 KCB (28 December 1883 – 19 December 1942Fleischer 1947, p. 216) was a Norwegian general and the first land commander to win a major victory against the Germans in the Second World War. Having followed the Norwegian gov ...
, issued orders to the 3rd Naval District that an internment camp for German
prisoners of war was to be established at Vardøhus.
[Steen 1958: 250]
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
Ofotfjord ( or ) is a fjord in Nordland county, Norway. It is an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, located about north of the Arctic Circle. The long Ofotfjord is Norway's 12th longest fjord and it is also the 18th deepest, with a maximum depth of . ...
during the
Battles of Narvik
The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War.
...
. The prisoners included the destroyer's commander, ''
Fregattenkapitän''
Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs
Alfred Schulze-Hinrichs (6 November 1899 – 23 June 1972) was a Kapitän zur See with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Career
*October 1924: Survey vessel ''Panther''.
*January 1927: ...
.
[ 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
Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...
county and the 155 prisoners shipped to Skorpa on ''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
A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...
and a radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
. 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 flew low and strafed
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.
Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...
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.[Stjern 2003: 19] 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
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
.
Following the attack, work began on the construction of a new anti-aircraft position on the nearby Kirkeberget hill. The position was completed, but no armaments were installed before the cease-fire went 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 United Kingdom. Seizing the opportunity, Bjerkelund left for Rosyth
Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440.
The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...
that same day on the patrol boat ''Nordhav II''. Bjerkelund was replaced as commander by coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...
lieutenant H. Johannesen later in the day. Of the ten officers and NCOs 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
The national flag of Norway ( nb, Norges flagg; nn, Noregs flagg; ) is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross fimbriated 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 ...
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.[Fjeld 1999, p. 213]
However, since the Norwegian interpreted the order as only to not raise the State flag
In vexillology, a state flag is either the flag of the government of a sovereign state, or the flag of an individual federated state (subnational administrative division).
Government flag
A state flag is a variant of a national flag (or occasi ...
, they instead raised the Civil ensign
A civil ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign (or war ensign). It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag ...
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
(, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany.
Ger ...
Josef Terboven
Josef Terboven (23 May 1898 – 8 May 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and the ''Reichskommissar'' for Norway during the German occupation.
Early life
Terboven was born in Es ...
on 7 November. Rynning spent the next two years as a political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
at Grini and 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. This is ...
in Norway. In December 1942 Rynning was given prisoner of war status and deported to camps in Germany and occupied Poland
' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 Octobe ...
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, among other things building two coastal artillery batteries. 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
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
through Finnmark before the advancing Finns, General Lothar Rendulic ordered a scorched earth policy. Vardø was burned, with only a few houses remaining.[Stagg 1952, p. 197] Even though the German coastal artillery batteries were demolished before the Germans left, Vardøhus was left intact, although in a miserable state of disrepair.
Post-World War II
Prison
During the immediate post-war period, from 1945 to 1947, the fortress was demilitarised and used as a prison for people convicted of treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
in the post-war legal purge. 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 Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...
, 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
A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, or in exceptiona ...
on Norwegian Constitution Day
Constitution Day is the national day of Norway and is an official public holiday observed on 17 May each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to as ''Syttende Mai'' ("Seventeenth of May"), ''Nasjonaldagen'' ("National Day"), or ''Grunnlo ...
(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 gunshots announce to the school pupils of Vardø that they have the rest of the day off in celebration of the return of the sun.
Museum
As the Fortress has mainly the same appearance today as in 1738 it serves as a piece of cultural and military history. The fortress is open to the public and houses a museum.
Commanding officers
(incomplete listing)
* Lieutenant Colonel Carl Albert von Passow 1739-1755
* Major Peter Hanson With (Huid) 1755-1757
* Jørgen Rosenkrantz 1757-1759
* Major Conrad Henrich Ecklef 1759-1780
* Major Otto Christian Rosenkrantz 1780-1785
* Major Hartvig Segelcke 1786-1787
* Major Hans Friderich Gemtze (Giemtze) 1788-1793
* No commander 1793-1800.
* Captain Hans Jørgen Jacob Trost (1800–1802)
* Captain Ole Christopher Broch (Brock) (–June 24,1812)
* Captain Christian Andreas Hiorth (June 24, 1812–1815)
* Captain Johan Audensen (Anderson) Frey (1815–1818)
* First Lieutenant Gottfried Pleym (1818–1823)
* First Lieutenant Hermann Niciolai Scharfenberg (1823–1829)
* First Lieutenant Haldor Lykke (1829–1830)
* First Lieutenant Eilert Hegrem (1830–1832)
* First Lieutenant Reinert Ulfers(1832–1833)
* First Lieutenant Petter Heiberg Ross (born 1789–died 1838) July 12,1833–November 2, 1838)
* Captain Paul Conradi (1839–1852)
* Captain Christian Fredrik Wilhelm Scharffenberg (1853–1859)
* Captain Nicolai Beichmann (1859–1865)
* First Lieutenant Hans Juell Borchgrevink (1865–1866)
* Captain J.A. William T. Apenes (1866–1868)
* Captain Carl Schulz (1868–1890)
* Captain V. Graf Lonnevig (1890–1894)
* Major Maurice Cock Arnesen (1884–1914)[Fjeld 1999, p. 404]
* Major Axel Fredrik Holter (1915–1934)
* Captain Johan Basilier Basilier (1935–13 April 1940)
* Lieutenant (Navy) B. Bjerkelund (13 April–8 June 1940)
* Lieutenant H. Johannesen (8–18 June 1940)
* Captain (Navy) Roald Rye Rynning (June 18, 1940–November 7, 1940)
* 1945–1947: No commander, used as prison.
* Major Erik Presterud (1947–1955)
* Major H. Willoch (1955–1957)
* Major (War Captain) K. Munck (1959–1970)
* War Captain A.J. Toreid (1970)
* Commander Captain J. R. Nordli (1971–1974)
* 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 (1993–1999)
* Commander Ivar Olaf Halse (1999–2003)
* Commander Lasse Haughom (June 2003–June 2005)
* Commander Lars Andreas Rognan (June 2005–August 2008)
* Major Tor Arild Melby (August 2008–2010)
* Commander Åge Leif Godø (August 2010–2011).
* Commander Elisabeth Eikeland (August 2011–2014).
* Commander Tor Arild Melby (August 2014–2015).
* Commander Odd Inge Haravik (August 2015–August 2020)
* Orlogskaptein Roger Hoel (August 2020–present day)
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
* Stjern, Ivar: ''Ingeniørvåpnet i Nord-Norge gjennom hundre år'', Forsvarets Overkommando/InfoMediaHuset AS, Oslo 2003
*''The Northern Wars, 1558-1721'' by Robert I. Frost
Robert I. Frost (born 1958) is a British historian and academic.[Guthorm Kavli
Guthorm Kavli (15 May 1917 – 1 June 1995) was a Norwegian architect and art historian.
Biography
Kavli was born in Trondheim, Norway. He received a degree in architecture from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1941 and a degree in art his ...]
; Universitetsforlaget; 1987;
*''Christian 4.s Finnmarkreise in 1599'' by Einar Niemi, Foreningen til Norske Fortidsminnesmerkers Bevaring, Oslo, 1988.
*
*''North Norway'' by Frank Noel Stagg, George Allen and Unwin
George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...
, Ltd., 1952.
*
External links
Vardøhus Fortress
* https://forsvaretsforum.no/ny-kommandant-pa-vardohus/161011
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vardoehus Fortress
Vardø
Forts in Norway
Star forts
Royal Norwegian Navy bases
World War II prisoner of war camps in Norway
History of Troms og Finnmark
Military installations in Troms og Finnmark
Tourist attractions in Troms og Finnmark
1306 establishments in Europe
14th-century establishments in Norway