Ritning öfver Skansen Götha Leijon vid Götheborg

Skansen Lejonet ("the Lion

Sconce Sconce may refer to: * Sconce (fortification), a military fortification * Sconce (light fixture) * Sconcing, imposing a penalty in the form of drink * Sconce Point on the Isle of Wight, England People with the surname *Jeffrey Sconce, professor ...

"), formally Westgötha Leijon ("the Westrogothic Lion"), is a

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect sold ...

on the hill Gullberg in Gothenburg, Sweden, built in 1687-92 on the site of an earlier

medieval castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. It was decommissioned in 1822 and has since served a range of other purposes. The fortress and its twin, Skansen Kronan, were built to protect the city of Gothenburg against possible

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

attack, and thus had a similar purpose to the sea fort of New Älvsborg, which was built around the same time.

Gullberg Castle

Skansen Lejonet was erected on the site of an older

, known as ''Gullbergs hus'' (literally 'Gullberg's House'). According to the '' Erik's Chronicle'', it was built in 1285 by King Birger. It had evidently fallen into disrepair by 1455, as it had to be rebuilt in that year by Tord Karlsson Bonde, only to be destroyed by the Danes in 1523, during the

Swedish War of Liberation The Swedish War of Liberation (1521–23; sv, Befrielsekriget, lit=The Liberation War), also known as Gustav Vasa's Rebellion and the Swedish War of Secession, was a rebellion and a civil war in which the nobleman Gustav Vasa deposed King Chr ...

; it was rebuilt again by the early Vasa kings, only to be destroyed once more by the Danes in July 1612, during the

Kalmar War The Kalmar War (1611–1613) was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark-Norway soon gained the upper hand, it was unable to defeat Sweden entirely. The Kalmar War was the last time Denmark-Norway successfully defended its ''do ...

History

The city of Gothenburg 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 162516 January 1703) was a Swedish military engineer, Governor-general and Field marshal. He rose to the level of nobility through his military competence. As an architect and draftsman, he was reno ...

, with the one on the Risåsberg being named Skansen Kronan and the one on the Gullberg being named Skansen Westgötha Leijon. The latter name, which alluded to the fact that the lion is a symbol of

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, was soon truncated in colloquial speech to ''Skansen Lejonet'', or simply ''Lejonet'' ('the Lion'). Suecia 3-037 ; Göteborg

At the time, Gullberg was separated from the city walls by a substantial expanse of open ground, as can be clearly seen in Dahlbergh's illustrations of Gothenburg, including the by-then finished Skansen Lejonet, from his famous '' Suecia antiqua et hodierna'' (1690–1710). However, as the city expanded, Gullberg was enveloped by urban sprawl, and today Skansen Lejonet is situated in the middle of the

marshalling yards A classification yard ( American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard ( British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a rail ...

outside

Gothenburg Central Station Gothenburg Central Station ( sv, Göteborgs centralstation, Göteborg C) is the main railway station of Gothenburg and it is the oldest railway station in Sweden still in use. The station serves 27 million passengers per year, making it the secon ...

. The fortress is nevertheless still accessible on foot. The construction of Skansen Lejonet began in May 1687. On 10 September 1689, the construction site was visited by

King Charles XI Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein ...

, accompanied by a number of other dignitaries. According to later accounts of the occasion by Dahlbergh and other witnesses, the king and his entourage climbed onto the roof of the half-finished fortress and drank a series of toasts. The seven-year old Crown Prince Charles, the future King Charles XII, was also present, and drew a picture of Skansen Lejonet which is still preserved. The fortress was complete by 1692, when the finishing touch was applied in the shape of a lion ornament fashioned by the sculptor Marcus Jäger the Elder. The lion was depicted wearing a gilded crown, brandishing a sword and bearing a shield with the Swedish

three crowns Three Crowns ( sv, tre kronor, links=no) is the national emblem of Sweden, present in the coat of arms of Sweden, and composed of three yellow or gilded coronets ordered two above and one below, placed on a blue background. Similar designs are ...

emblem, imitating the lion on the coat of arms of Gothenburg. At some point over the following two centuries the original ornament was removed for unknown reasons, and subsequently lost. However, after the roof of the building was destroyed by a fire in 1891, it was decided that once the damage had been fixed, a new lion should be made to adorn the tower again. The architect Eugen Thorburn designed the replacement ornament, which is four metres high and made of

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

. The new lion was lifted into place atop Skansen Lejonet on October 6, 1893. Skansen Lejonet is currently used as a venue for wedding banquets, conferences and private parties; the building is owned by a fraternal order, ''Götiska Förbundet'', not to be confused with the literary society of the same name which was active in the early

nineteenth century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...

References

Sources

* * 17th-century fortifications Castles in Västra Götaland County Forts in Sweden History of Gothenburg Listed buildings in Gothenburg {{Sweden-struct-stub

Gullberg Castle

History

See also

References

Sources