Skansen Kronan ("the Crown Sconce") is a

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...

on the hill Risåsberget, in the Haga district of

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

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 ...

. The fortress and its twin,

Skansen Lejonet Skansen Lejonet ("the Lion Sconce (fortification), Sconce"), formally Westgötha Leijon ("the Västergötland, Westrogothic Lion"), is a redoubt on the hill Gullberg in Gothenburg, Sweden, built in 1687–92 on the site of an earlier medieval cas ...

, were built to protect the city of Gothenburg against possible Danish attack, and thus had a similar purpose to the

sea fort 300px, Cartagena_de_Indias.html" ;"title="Castillo San Felipe de Barajas in Cartagena de Indias">Castillo San Felipe de Barajas in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia Coastal defence (or defense) and coastal fortification are measures taken to pro ...

New Älvsborg New Älvsborg, so-called to distinguish it from the earlier fortress at Old Älvsborg, is a Coastal defence and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort on the island of Kyrkogårdsholmen within the urban area of modern Gothenburg, Sweden. Situated near ...

, which was built around the same time.

History

The city of

was founded in 1621. The new settlement was equipped with an impressive network of fortifications, but military engineers were concerned by the fact that the city was overlooked by two hills, the Gullberg and the Risåsberg, and so it was decided to construct forts on both hilltops in order to prevent potential attackers from siting artillery there. The two forts were designed by

Erik Dahlbergh Count Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh (10 October 1625 – 16 January 1703) was a Swedish military engineer, Governor-general, Field marshal and Master-general of the Ordinance. He rose to the level of nobility through his military competence. Acc ...

, with the one on the Risåsberg being named Skansen Kronan and the one on the Gullberg being named Skansen Lejonet. Kronan1697

Work began on Skansen Kronan in 1687, and the fort was officially commissioned in 1698 and equipped with 23 guns, though the roof was not actually completed until 1700. It has 4-5 metre thick walls made of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

and

diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-gra ...

. Skansen Kronan was never attacked, and the cannons were never fired in anger. Around the year 1900 it was decided to turn the fortress into a

military museum A military museum or war museum is an institution dedicated to the preservation and education of the significance of wars, conflicts, and military actions. These museums serve as repositories of artifacts (not least weapons), documents, photographs ...

, which opened on 23 November 1904. The museum closed in September 2004, and its collections were transferred to the

Museum of Gothenburg The Museum of Gothenburg () is a local history museum located in the city centre of Gothenburg in western Sweden. It is located in the East India House (), originally built as the Swedish East India Company offices in 1762. The city museum was e ...

. Skansen Kronan was recognised as a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1935. At the time of its construction, Skansen Kronan was located outside the city walls, but the hill was later swallowed up by urban sprawl, becoming part of Haga in west-central Gothenburg. Today Skansen Kronan is privately-owned and used as a venue for conferences and private parties.

References

Other sources

* *Mattsson, Britt-Marie (1992) ''Parkernas Göteborg'' (Göteborg: AB Långedrag, Tryckeri AB Framåt) *Rhedin, Per (1996) ''Med hammare, sax och tång: En liten historik om plåtslageriet i Göteborg'', (utgiven av Göteborgs Bleck- & Plåtslagaremästareförening) *Schånberg, Sven; Stig Allan Agroth (1989) ''Vid Skansbergets fot : Hagastudier i bild och ord'' (Göteborg)

External links

Skansen Kronan website
17th-century fortifications Buildings and structures completed in 1698 Castles in Västra Götaland County Forts in Sweden History of Gothenburg Museums in Gothenburg Military and war museums in Sweden 1698 establishments in Sweden Listed buildings in Gothenburg Museums established in 1904 Museums disestablished in 2004 1904 establishments in Sweden 2004 disestablishments in Sweden {{Sweden-museum-stub

History

See also

References

Other sources

External links