Varberg Fortress

Varberg Fortress was built in 1287-1300 by count Jacob Nielsen as protection against his Danish king, who had declared him an outlaw after the murder of king Eric V of Denmark.

Jacob had close connections with king Eric II of Norway and as a result got substantial Norwegian assistance with the construction. The fortress, as well as half the county, became Norwegian in 1305.

King Eric's grand daughter, Ingeborg Håkansdotter, inherited the area from her father, king Haakon V of Norway. She and her husband, Erik Magnusson, established a semi-independent state out of their Norwegian, Swedish and Danish counties until the death of Erik. They spent considerable time at the fortress. Their son, king Magnus II of Sweden/Magnus VII of Norway, spent much time at the fortress as well.

The fortress was augmented during the late 16th and early 17th century on order by king Christian IV of Denmark. 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 from the end of the 17th Century until 1931. It is currently used as a museum and bed and breakfast as well as private accommodation.

The moat 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

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Kristoffer R
30 July 2016
Make sure to join the informative and very engaging guided tour. It takes you into the walls where you can't go by yourself. Highly recommended!
John
7 August 2014
Take a stroll and enjoy the view.
Pettran
16 July 2022
When in Varberg you cannot miss out on the fortress. Staff is very talkative and has great knowledge about the fortress and "bockstensmannen"
Mathilda Larsson
16 July 2019
Walk along the coast towards Apelviken and enjoy the view
Thord Schibler
19 September 2014
View, detail
Oktay Uyaroglu
19 September 2015
Ilginç bir ortaçağ kalesi. Görmeye değer
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FÄSTNINGEN 9, 432 44 Varberg, Sweden Get directions
Thu 11:00 AM–5:00 PM
Fri Noon–9:00 PM
Sat 10:00 AM–8:00 PM
Sun 10:00 AM–5:00 PM
Mon 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Tue 10:00 AM–7:00 PM

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