Varberg Fortress () is a former fortification in

Varberg Varberg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 35,782 inhabitants in 2019. Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their "typical west coast" sandy beaches. In Varberg th ...

Halland County Halland County (, ) is a county ('' län'') on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland. ...

, Sweden, which currently serves as a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

History

Varberg Fortress was built in 1287-1300 by Count Jacob Nielsen as protection against

Eric VI of Denmark Eric VI Menved (1274 – 13 November 1319) was King of Denmark (1286–1319). A son of King Eric V and Agnes of Brandenburg, he became king in 1286 at age 12, when his father was murdered on 22 November by unknown assailants. On account of his ...

, who had declared him an outlaw after the murder of his father King

Eric V of Denmark Eric V Klipping (1249 – 22 November 1286) was King of Denmark from 1259 to 1286. After his father Christopher I died, his mother Margaret Sambiria ruled Denmark in his name until 1266, proving to be a competent regent. Between 1261 and 1262, ...

. Jacob had close connections with King

Eric II of Norway Eric Magnusson (1268 – 15 July 1299) (Old Norse: ''Eiríkr Magnússon''; Norwegian: ''Eirik Magnusson'') was the King of Norway from 1280 until 1299. Background Eirik was the eldest surviving son of King Magnus the Lawmender of Norway, and h ...

and as a result got substantial Norwegian assistance with the construction. The fortress, as well as half the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, became Norwegian in 1305. In the fourteenth century the fortress was expanded to include a castle. King Erik's grand daughter, Ingeborg Håkansdotter, inherited the area from her father, King

Haakon V of Norway Haakon V Magnusson (10 April 1270 – 8 May 1319) (; ) was King of Norway from 1299 until 1319. Biography Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Through his mother, ...

. She and her husband, Duke Erik Magnusson, established a semi-independent state out of their Norwegian,

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and Danish counties until the death of Erik. They spent considerable time at the fortress. Their son

Magnus Eriksson Magnus Eriksson (April or May 1316 – 1 December 1374) was King of Sweden from 1319 to 1364, King of Norway as Magnus VII from 1319 to 1355, and ruler of Scania from 1332 to 1360. By adversaries he has been called ''Magnus Smek'' (). Medi ...

, King of Sweden and Norway, spent much time at the fortress as well. Varberg was besieged multiple times in the 16th century. Much of the original structure was destroyed as a result. The fortress was augmented during the late 16th and early 17th century on order by King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

. However, after the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645 the fortress became Swedish. It was used as a military installation until 1830 and as a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

from the end of the 17th Century until 1931. It is currently used as a

and has a couple of notable pieces on permanent exhibit:

Bocksten Man The Bocksten Man () is the remains of a medieval man's body found in a bog in Varberg Municipality, Sweden. It is one of the best-preserved finds in Europe from that era and is exhibited at the Halland Museum of Cultural History (formerly known a ...

with the only complete clothing from the 1300s known to have been worn by a single individual, and the button that supposedly killed

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

. The fort also houses a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

as well as private accommodation. The

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

of the fortress is said to be inhabited by a small lake monster. In August 2006, a couple of witnesses claimed to have seen the monster emerge from the dark water and devour a duck. The creature is described as brown, furless and with a 40 cm long tail.

References

External links

Varberg County MuseumVarberg historyVarbergs fästnings historia
{{Coord, 57, 6.4, N, 12, 14.4, E, region:SE_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Varberg Castles in Halland County Forts in Sweden Listed buildings in Sweden Aquatic cryptids