Akershus fortress

The Visitor Centre

The Visitor Centre is a good starting point for exploring the exciting history of Akershus Fortress. 

"The long red house"

The Visitor Centre is located in the Artillery Building, also called “The long red house”, built in 1774.

You can see the date 1774 carved in stone near the south (right) corner of the foundation wall.

Entry free of charge

The Visitor Centre is open weekdays and weekends throughout the year – entry is free of charge. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate are on sale here.

The carp pond - cultural stage

The Carp Pond.

The Carp Pond was originally a part of an old watercourse, and the pond is shown on maps from the 1700s. It was filled in after the mid-1800s and reestablished in the 1960s.

New life on historic ground.

Today the fortress area is a unique stage for cultural events such concerts, theatre performances and exhibitions.

Many of the events take place outdoors, here at the idyllic Carp Pond.

Restoration of fortress walls

You are now at the Crown Prince's bastion. Take a look at the walls surrounding you.

Do you see walls with light joins and walls with dark joins?

Dark joins means old walls that have not been restored.

Walls with light joins have recently been restored with new lime mortar.

Why are the walls being restored?

In the past centuries one has used cement when restoring fortress walls. Cement is an impenetrable and stiff material, and moisture in the walls is closed in.

When there is frost, the water freezes to ice, the rocks are squeezed out and the filler cracks.

Even more water penetrates and washes away the lime mortar, leaving cavities behind the cement. In the worst case, parts of the wall can collapse.

How a fortress wall is restored

A protected wall must be treated with the original materials and methods.

When fortress wall are restored today, cement is replaced by lime mortar. Old cement and loose material is removed. The joins are reinforced with filler rocks and new lime mortar.

5 degress Celsius

As lime mortar requires temperatures above 5 degrees Celsius to set, this work must be done during the summer season.

A puzzle

Some parts of walls have to be dismantled before being reconstructed.

Stones are labelled with numbers, the area is photographed, and the stones are dismantled.

When reconstruction, the stones are replaced in their original positions. The stones can weigh from 100 to 500 kg, and some even up to 1.5 tons.

Safe walls at Akershus fortress

Norwegian Defence Estates Agency National Fortification Heritage represents one of the country's foremost professional communities with respect to cultural monuments.

Up to 2014 NOK 8.2 million has been spent restoring walls and buildings at Akershus fortress.

A total of almost 18,500 square metres of walls have been restored at the fortresses.

This ensures accessibility and safety for the 800 000 visitors who annually visit the fortress.

Prison cells

This building was the old national prison at the fortress.

Being a prisoner at Akershus fortress in the old days was not easy.

Solitar cinfinement cells

On the ground floor of the Crown Prince's gunpowder tower, 3 prison cells were established in 1891 that were used as solitary confinement cells for prisoners above the age of 18 who broke the rules.

Half rations, in full confinement og in pitch dark

Here one would be imprisoned on half rations, in full confinement and in the pitch dark for up to 10 days, on condition that a medical certificate confirmed that the prisoner's health could withstand the stay.

Hard punishment

This was pretty harsh punishment. According to the rules, there should be:

“No chairs, tables, benches or other means of comfort.

Nor other places to lie than a bare bunk with a straw-filled pillow to lay under one's head.

Also one or two regular blankets, depending on conditions”

The celebration og King Frederik III in 1648

Imagine that you are back in the year 1648. On the Square, there is a large stand filled with people. Here the Danish King Frederik III was celebrated. He ruled Denmark-Norway from 1648 to 1670.

Great splendour

From 1548 it was the custom that the Danish kings were also celebrated in Norway as an official confirmation of the contract between the King and the people. The Governor Hannibal Sehested had prepared the celebration for a long time with much emphasis on splendour. A large stand was built on Hovedtangen, now the Fortress Square, where the actual celebrations were to take place.

Salute with 800 rounds

At the celebration of 24 August 1648 King Frederik sat on a throne under a dual canopy. It is said that the King tipped his hat and shook hands when swearing in, but the farmers had to be content with the King's gracious gaze.

The soldiers and citizens then fired their rifles and a 800 shot salute thundered from the castle's and naval vessels' canons.

Enormous banquet

The same afternoon an enormous banquet with more than 1,000 guests was held. Of these, around 250 were in the castle's halls. Among other places, the remainder were in the city's town hall.

 

Ordinary people were also given the opportunity to take part in the feast, and everyone was allowed to drink as much beer and wine as they wanted and all would be served well. The banquet was concluded with magnificent fireworks.

 

Stately service

According to the accounts we know that 877 sheep and lambs, 78 bulls, 136 pigs, 44 calves, 1,387 chickens, 600 score eggs, 197 fattened geese and 137 hares and turkeys were served.

The Fortress Square today

Up to this day the Fortress Square is used for celebrating kings and heads of state, parades and medal ceremonies.

Guns, prisoners and diet

The guns on Michael von Sundts Plass are pointing against Akershus old prison

In 1844 these guns were loaded ready to shoot prisoners who were rioting in protest against the poor food being served up in the prison. Fortunately, the riot was quelled peacefully. 

Different periods found different solutions as to how to feed the prisoners in Akershus Fortress. In 1652, those imprisoned for theft were put to work in the fortress in exchange for an adequate diet.

Two pounds a day in 1823 

This changed at a later period, and in 1823 prisoners were being provided with bread and money. The prisoners had to buy their food from the wife of the Head Warder in the Slavery, who ran a kind of military canteen.

Same food for all from 1844 

1844 saw a revolution in terms of prisoners’ diet. It was decided that from then on all prisoners would have their food provided for them in the prison itself. This meant that everyone got the same food.

 

Øllebrød

Rumford’s soup

 

Weekly menu in 1860 

We know from prison regulations of the period that prisoners held at Akershus in 1860 could count on the weekly fare described below.

For your information: 

1 pot = 0.965 litres
1 portion = approx. 16 grammes

Breakfast at 6 am each day consisted of ½ a pot of beer and 14 portions of bread.

Lunch consisted each day of 14 portions of bread, plus:

Monday and Friday:
1 pot of barley porridge and 1/2 a pot of milk

Tuesday:
1 pot of barley soup, 6 portions of meat and 1/4 of a pot of potatoes

Wednesday:
1 pot of Rumford’s soup, 9–10 portions of herring and 1/4 of a pot of potatoes

Thursday:
1 pot of pea soup, 6 portions of meat and 1/4 of a pot of potatoes

Saturday:
1 pot of Øllebrød porridge, 9–10 portions of herring and 1/4 of a pot of potatoes

Sunday:
1 pot of pea soup, 4 portions of belly pork and 1/4 of a pot of potatoes

Evening meal at 7 pm:
¾ of a pot or 30 portions of potatoes, 3–4 portions of herring, ½ a pot of milk and 7 portions of bread.

Munk's tower

The tower got its name from the Danish nobleman Christiern Munk, who was Governor at Akershus in 1556.

Christiern Munk demolished the earlier “Water Tower” and erected in its place a combined gun and gate tower at this spot. The new tower, originally called “det nye Værn i Forborgen” (the new Defence in the Outer Wall), was finished in 1559. The tower incorporated three storeys with five gun slits for cannon on each storey.

1559 – The Iron Gate

The new gate of the fortress, called the Iron Gate, was built right up against the tower’s western face.

Parts of this survive and you can see half an arch, which took the form of an ellipse and was part of a 2.5 metre wide gate in the wall to the right:

1628 – roof platform erected

In 1628, the tented roof was removed to provide an open platform to allow defenders to bring their guns to bear more readily on the enemy. It turned out to be a poor solution in the Norwegian climate. The roof leaked and the gunpowder which was stored in the tower got wet.

1691 – tented roof with pinnacle

After 1691 the tower got a roof similar to the present one – a tented pinnacle-topped roof covered with lead. We can also see this on the 1699 painting by the Dutch painter Jacob Coning.

Also worthy of note is the fact that the crown regalia were kept in the top storey of the tower in the 19th century.

Old legends and sayings

One old legend tells of there being an underground passageway from Munk’s Tower to Hovedøya island.

Another saying relates that a headless shrouded form could be seen wandering around the tower at night. It is reported to have last been sighted in 1884...

New lighting

On 5 December 2013 the new lighting in Akershus Fortress was switched on for the first time by Minister of Defence Ine Eriksen Søreide (C).

Natural light day and night

The new lighting has been carefully planned and artistically designed by lighting designer Erik Selmer.

The yellow glow of the flood lighting has now been replaced by natural light, the idea being that people should be able to see the fortress facades as far as possible as they would appear in daylight, even when pitch dark.

The new lighting at the south wing of Akershus Castle, where you now stand:

The lights are controlled automatically by three astronomical timers which use GPS coordinates to ensure the lights come on 28 minutes after sunset and go out 28 minutes before sunrise. 24 hours a day, 360 days a year.

Magical atmosphere

The fortress appears as it actually is, in all its glory and unique architecture. The variations in colour and shape of the facades can be clearly made out.

The only spot which differs markedly from this is the Blue Tower on the castle, where LED lamps cast a very special blue light, creating a magical atmosphere.

Discreet positioning

184 lighting masts and 243 light fittings have been set up and installed over an area stretching from Kontraskjæret park, along the Akershus shore line, the inner Fortress and around Akershus Castle.

Fittings and masts have been positioned and designed expressly to blend in with the fortress surroundings.

The Norwegian Defence Estates Agency, the City of Oslo, the Port of Oslo and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence have contributed to the project.

Voices from the past

This is the Knuts tower.

Through the ages the tower has been used as a flanking tower, prison and gunpowder tower. The tower has got its name from landowner and captain Knut Alvsson.

He headed the sole Norwegian rebellion against the Danish union. He was murdered in an ambush, posthumously sentenced for treason and thrown into one of the castle's towers as a warning to others.

Voices from the past

When dismantling the old Knuts tower, a “message in a bottle” from 1862 was found.

On one of two texts the following was written:

“In the year 1862 after the birth of Christ on 20 August this wall was repaired and this stone put in place. The stone was in the year 1822 removed from the gate of the covered road for the main gate's tenaille, which was then demolished.

King Karl XV rules over Norway and Sweden.
Napoleon the III in France.

There is war between the North and South in America. Garibaldi is making noise in Italy. Today the Swedish cadets arrived in Kristiania to participate in the camp at Gardermoen.

The year is looking good and rest is needed, as there has been two bad years. There is no want in the country, but neither is there plenty.

If centuries pass before this is found, we wish that the name of our beloved Norway must live on the tongue of the people, respected and honoured as before.

May good fortune accompany the country and people, and that the blessing of God is upon us. That is what we wish, we who lay this stone.

Bavarian beer is widely drunk and costs 5 shillings for a bottle.

We drink a toast to the future with a bottle of Bavarian beer, as we have nothing else available.”

The northern curtain wall

Geological investigations conducted in the 1920s indicate that this wall and the lower parts of the Akershus castle were the first to be built at Akershus, between 1294 and 1298.

Well protected

In the 14th century the mediaeval castle (Akershus Castle) was well protected by strong curtain walls along the landward side. These were three metres thick and at least eight metres high.

The curtain wall was an important part of the original defence works of the mediaeval castle. The wall is around five metres to the north of the North Wing, providing additional protection against would-be attackers.

It was difficult to gain access to the castle. The curtain wall was built directly on the rock, making it impossible to dig tunnels below it.

The lord of the castle built the walls as high as possible to prevent attackers scaling them with siege ladders.

Knut's tower

The tower to the west (look to the right) the Knut Tower, was built as a crossfire tower to direct crossbow or shortbow fire at the enemy.

If an attacker did however manage to force the wall, he would have been trapped inside the castle moat between the curtain wall and the North Wing. There he would have been quickly taken out of action by the castle defenders.

Demolished between 1527 and 1567

The North Curtain Wall was demolished some time between 1527 and 1567. The castle moat was filled with earth and reinstated to its original level. And a cobbled courtyard was laid out.

Beautiful halls in Akershus Castle

Akershus Castle was initiated as a banquet hall in connection with the celebration of King Haakon the VII's 75th birthday in 1947.

Government representation

Behind the thick castle walls there are magnificent, beautifully furnished halls that now form the backdrop for government representation.

The halls are used both for receptions, government dinners, state visits and other important occasions. The Friends of Akershus Castle are the only ones, in addition to the government, that are permitted to organize events at Akershus Castle

The four largest halls are Christian IV's hall, the Romerikssalen hall, the Margarethasalen hall and Olav V's hall.

The largest and most widely used hall is Romerikssalen.

The Romerikssalen hall was named after the following event:

A fateful night in 1527 lightning struck the castle and much of the building was destroyed in the large fire. Farmers from Romerike were conscripted to carry out the reconstruction, and soon a far more efficient building emerged. One of the largest and most widely used halls is therefore called Romerikssalen.

Execution site

 

42 Norwegians were executed here during World War II

The first executions took place on 9 February 1945.

20 people were shot in an act of revenge after the Norwegian resistance assassinated Karl Marthinsen, police general and head of the Norwegian State Police.

The following day a further 8 people were killed, and on 17 March another 14 were executed. All of the executions were carried out by firing squad, many of them by members of the State Police.

Memorial

The memorial was made by the artist Per Palle Storm (1910-1994) and unveiled by HM King Haakon VII on 8 May 1949.

The text

The text on the memorial reads:

"They fought they fell they gave us everything. On this site Norwegian patriots were shot during the war 1940-1945."

The plaque listing their names also bears the following text:

"42 Norwegians were executed here by the German occupying forces."

Marked on Liberation Day

This is marked on Liberation Day, 8 May, every year with the laying of a wreath at the place of execution.

The artist Per Palle Storm

The sculptor Per Palle Storm was born in Denmark in 1910 and was a professor at the National Academy of the Arts in Oslo from 1948 to 1980.

He created a number of public commissions, including the monument to workers in Youngstorget and the six large sculptures of craftsmen on the fjord side of Oslo City Hall.

Saluting on the fortresses

The salute cannons at Akershus Fortress.

Ordinarily there are three cannons in a salute battery. Each cannon has a crew of two; one who loads and one who fires. The crew is from the home guard, and they carry the appropriate uniform. On weekdays the salute is at noon, while on Sundays it is at 1 p.m.

Commands

The salute commander heads the salute troop and gives the orders to fire the salute. He cries the cannon's number and “Fire!” (Ild) No other commands are used in this context. One fires from right to left in the firing direction.

Number of shots

Ordinarily 21 shots are fired. For important events in the royal family there is a double royal salute, which is two times 21 shots. In the case of deaths in the royal family, there is a 21 shot mourning salute.

There is a gap of five seconds between the shots in an ordinary salute and a gap of 30 seconds between the shots in a mourning salute. In a double salute there is a one minute gap between the series.

The Royal Family is saluted

Dates for regular saluting:

• 21 February - H.M. King Harald's birthday
• 8 May - Liberation Day after WWII (1945)
• 17 May - Constitution Day (1814)
• 7 June - Dissolution of the Union with Sweden (1905)
• 4 July - H.M. Queen Sonja's birthday
• 20 July - H.R.H. Crown Prince Haakon's birthday
• 19 August - H.R.H. Crown Princess Mette-Marit's birthday

The prison chapel

The prison chapel (1866) contained the prison kitchen and bathrooms on the ground floor and the chapel and schoolroom above. The building was refurnished as offices, library and tuition room in 1948, whereas the chapel was restored in 1968. In 1820 the corn store (1788) was rebuilt to house 150 prisoners, with a working room on the ground floor and dormitories above.

The guardhouse

The building was originally erected as a single-story guardhouse with a hip roof. Note the carved lion heads in the foundation wall by the entrance. Eventually the Slavery appropriated this building as well as prison facilities. The building acquired its present appearance in 1855, is currently the guardhouse and a museum for His Majesty the King’s Guard.

Barracks

A herb garden was created at some unknown date; it is shown on the oldest known image of Akershus, from the 1580s. It survived several extensions, including a bathhouse, a rabbit cage and an enclosure for a deer, up to the end of the 1600s, when a riding ground was created. The present building was probably erected in several stages until 1778 and is a typical military utility building of its period. In 1787 prisoners’ cells were created in the northern wing. The famous peasant rebel Christian J. Lofthus was incarcerated here for ten years until his death in 1797. From 1947 the building has housed offices.

Prins Carl's Bastion

Prince Carl’s Bastion was commenced in 1616 and completed in the 1650s, when the western flank vis-à-vis Munk’s Tower was completed. In the same period the walls were increased in height, which is here visible as a horizontal division in the wall. A provisional drawbridge and gate, 1628-1653, can be seen here from the outside, in Kongens gate. Twenty-pound howitzers are deployed on the flanks of the bastions, intended to enfilade the length of the moat, and on the faces are long-range guns.

Munk's pond

The pond was originally a natural pond, debouching into the sea, and was used as a natural part of the defensive system of the medieval castle, creating a virtual moat in front of and behind the curtain wall. The pond is thought to have acquired its present form in the 1700s, but was filled in again in the 1800s. It was then restored again in connection with the restoration of the outdoor areas in the 1960s.

Eastern curtain wall

The medieval castle was well protected by strong curtain walls on the landward side. These were about three metres thick and at least eight metres high. The enclosed area between the curtain walls and the castle itself was a dry moat. If an enemy got over or through the curtain wall, he would be completely at the mercy of the defenders in the surrounding towers and buildings of the castle.

 

The virgin's tower

Access to the medieval castle was through this tower. Everything from the gatehouse and down to bedrock has been preserved, with visible remains of the portcullis channel and drawbridge system plus two gates. The Virgin’s Tower was closed off in the middle of the 1500s and as a replacement a gate – now sealed – was opened in the wall opposite the stables. In the Middle Ages the tower was both deeper and considerably higher.

 

The stables

This was the medieval castle’s outer works, a fortified guardhouse. Along the outer walls used to be important economic buildings (brewery, slaughter house, bakery etc.) plus stables. The little house with the red tile roof is an ancient well that was cut out of the rock. At the same time was cut a tunnel from the well to the pond outside the wall in order to safeguard the castle’s water supply. This passage still exists. Behind the well, in the curtain wall, can be traced an older gate to the Stables; this gate is thought to date from the middle of the 1500s.

 

The chancery wing

The extension on the seaward side is called the double secret and contained lavatory facilities in two floors. Study of the walls here reveals various stages of construction: at the bottom, grey stones broken out of the bedrock in the Middle Ages, then big medieval bricks, called monk’s tiles – here, however, reused in the 1600s. At the top, 17th-century tiles used by the thousand in Christian IV’s rebuilding operations.

 

The battery road

The western side of the castle was further fortified with walls and flanking positions with firing-slits for the infantry of the 1770s. Note the cobbles: the middle rows are laid at an angle so that horses could get a better grip when pulling heavy loads up the hill. See also the extensions in the gate to make room for the axles of the gun-carriages.

 

The Romerike bastion

Romerike Bastion was previously called the Great Bastion in the Wood Garden, after the medieval woodpile in this area. The bastion was built out of timber during the Calmar War (1611-13) and was subsequently improved as a permanent stone bastion (1640-41).

 

The North wing

The building’s northern facade is built of grey stone and without any trace of medieval openings due to the strategic defensive position of the building. The façade was subsequently equipped with firing-slits, probably in the 1500s. A little way down the wall, we can see traces of the walled-up cannon embrasures. The gate through the building is now the main entrance to Akershus Castle, inaugurated in 1648. Today the wing has four floors: the Journeymen’s Cellar, the Castle Hall, the Ladies’ Hall and, on the top, the Royal Hall.

 

Skarpenord's powder magazine

Skarpenord’s Powder Magazine, also called the Great Powder Magazine, was built as a bombproof magazine and gate in 1657. Above the upper archway are mortared Fredrik III’s monogram, the figure 1657 and three ornamental sandstones all deriving from viceroy Hannibal Sehested’s never-completed fortress gate. The sandstone comes from a quarry in Brumunddal.

 

The Corps de Garde

Is a well-designed baroque guardhouse, with a characteristic colonnade in front. The building has been used as a guardhouse, military jail and finally as a residence.

 

The Royal bastion

Also called the Great Rampart”, originally constructed as a covering rampart for the castle to the north, where the natural terrain did not provide enough protection. The work was commenced by Hans Paaske in 1567, after Akershus had stood two sieges during the Northern Seven Years’ War. After 1592 the structure became the inner defensive work of the new fortress. Medieval ornaments from demolished churches can be seen walled into the side of the passage.

 

Norway's resistance museum

Norway’s Resistance Museum is in the building originally called “the Double Battery” (1691-92), built as a demi-bastion with gun battery. After being used as a depot for many years, it has housed Norway’s Resistance Museum from 1967.

 

Tha sally gate

The gate was opened in 1834 after the outer fortress defences were abandoned.

 

The drawbridge and the winch

The Drawbridge and the Winch (1653) As early as 1620 a large opening in the wall had been left for the main gate, but because of imminent war it was walled up again in 1624. In the middle of the 1800s a new drawbridge was built, with a winch system in the gatehouse. One of the winches is still preserved in the northern part. The drawbridge crossed a moat that was filled in when the Kongens gate was completed around 1920.

 

The Romerike wing

The lower floor was probably a storeroom with two fortified gates onto the Wood Garden for taking in supplies. In 1633 the Romerike Wing was rebuilt and a royal kitchen established in the southern part of the ground floor. At the same time, the second floor was used by the viceroy as living quarters and offices. In the period 1841-45 the poet Henrik Wergeland, then national archivist, had an office on the ground floor.