Olsborg Castle (), also ''Olofsborg'', was a fortified castle located in

Tanum Municipality Tanum Municipality (; ) is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Västra Götaland County in southwestern Sweden. Its seat is the town of Tanumshede, with 1,600 inhabitants. The present municipality was formed in 1971 through the amalgamati ...

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It is situated on a steep cliff, and might previous to later use been an early

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

History

Olsborg was constructed in 1502 by the

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour. Terminology ''Squire'' ...

Nils Ravaldsson from Åby (died 1505), after a recent Norwegian-Swedish rebel attack on

Viken Viken may refer to: *Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region *Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020 *Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden *Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the Göta canal *IF Viken, ...

. In May 1504, a one-year ceasefire was signed between the Swedish-Norwegian rebels and King Hans. However most of Olsborg was destroyed shortly after, when the forces of Scandinavian monarch King Hans attacked during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

party in 1504. After the turmoil created by the dethronement of the Danish

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Christian II A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Ch ...

, the Swedes returned, seized the area and reconstructed Olsborg's fortifications. The brief Swedish rule of northern Bohuslän was administrated between 1523 and 1525 from Olsborg by the nobles Lars Siggesson (Sparre) (c. 1492-1554) and

Ture Jönsson (Tre Rosor) Ture may refer to: Names *Ture (Zande character), a trickster character from North Central Africa Personal name * Ture Hedman (1895–1950), Swedish gymnast * Ture Malmgren (1851–1922), Swedish journalist and politician * Ture Nerman (1886–1 ...

(c.1475-1532) . In 1525, the administration was moved to Karlsborg Castle, south of

Hamburgsund Hamburgsund is a locality situated in Tanum Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders ...

. During these years, the castle defenses were improved, especially in 1526. During Christian II's attempt to retake his throne, the part of Bohuslän under Swedish rule was attacked, and both Karlsborg and Olsborg were destroyed by Norwegian forces in December 1531. Decades later, several attempts to rebuild the castle was made by Sweden.

Eric XIV Erik XIV or Eric XIV (13 December 153326 February 1577) became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He ...

in 1564 and

Johan III John III (; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He attained the Swedish throne after a rebellion against his half-brother Erik XIV. He is mainly remembered for his attempts to close the gap bet ...

in 1569 and 1570 both tried, but the attempts were unsuccessful and the castle remained in ruins. The ruins were still clearly visible during the early 20th century, when they were excavated by Swedish archaeologist Wilhelm Berg (1839-1915). Berg was the secretary of the Gothenburg and Bohuslän Antiquities Association and had also excavated the Ragnhildsholmen fortification at

Kungahälla Kungahälla (, , ) was a medieval settlement in southern Bohuslän at a site which is located in Kungälv Municipality in Västra Götaland County in Sweden. It is the site of the former fortification at Ragnhildsholmen (''Borgen på Ragnhi ...

during the 1880s.

References

External links

* * Castles in Västra Götaland County Ruined castles in Sweden Hill forts in Sweden Tanum Municipality {{VästraGötaland-geo-stub