After finishing up at the Universeum, we decided to head out to the Bohus Fästning (Fortress), which is about 20minutes north of Göteborg.
History info follows - for our story, skip past the =====
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Bohus Fortress sits on the original border between Norway and Sweden. It was built in 1308 under King Haakon V Magnuson of Norway, and formed a major part of Norway's defence against Sweden.
It was completed in 1310 and in 1450 it had a full surrounding wall 3m thick.
The fortress was attacked 14 times but never fell. It was seriously damaged in the Northern Seven Years' War (1563-1570) when Swedish soldiers stormed the Northeastern tower. The Norwegians blew up the ammunition stores under the tower, killing the Swedes.
The fortress was handed over to Sweden under the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658 as part of the land ceded to Sweden. Since the fortress no longer lay on the border it was used as a prison. In the end of the 18th century, Sweden decided to demolish the castle and demolition crews worked for 2 months until the money allocated for the job ran out. Citizens then claimed the stones to use for house building. The significance of the fortress was realised later and it was preserved and now serves as a museum and tourist site.
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| Information Plaque |
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| Close up of the information text |
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| Details about the blockhouse gate |
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| Details with about Ny-Kungälv (New Kungälv) |
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We arrived at the tower around 1:30pm and it was clearly visible as we approached:
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| The view of the fortress on approach |
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| The side of the castle |
The tallest tower is called Fars Hatt (Father's Hat). Since the museum was closed for the winter we were able to walk around the outside only but we were the only visitors. It was still cold and icy and the kids had fun skidding around on the ice:
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| Sliding on the ice |
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| Stone outside the castle - sign reads: "Year 1101, The three kings of Scandinavia met at Alven, according to the annals, to settle their disputes and promote peace." |
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| View of the castle from the carpark |
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| Wider view |
We went for a walk up to the castle through the narrow path way - it was an imposing sight and would have been difficult for any army to approach:
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| Approach to the castle |
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| Kids and Kris approaching to castle to give a good sense of scale |
As usual, the kids were slightly impressed by the castle, but more so by the snow and ice:
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| Alana's ice ball |
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| Fars Hatt Tower |
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| View under the gate into the castle - Kris took this by lying down and holding the camera under the gate |
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| The main blockhouse gate and the servants door |
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