Basmo fortress (''Basmo festning'') is a former fortification located in the north-western part of Marker municipality in
Viken county
Viken may refer to:
*Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region
*Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020
*Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden
*Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...
, Norway. The fortress was placed on the main road from
Ørje
Ørje is the administrative centre of Marker municipality, Norway, not far from the Swedish border. Its population (2013) is 1,881.
Ørje was founded in the 1880s around a timber-processing mill. Engebret Soot had built the first Norwegian cana ...
. The site is situated near the
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 ...
border on an isolated mountain outcropping between lakes
Rødenessjøen
Rødenessjøen is a lake in the municipalities of Aurskog-Høland in Akershus county and Marker in Østfold county, Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of ...
Christian V of Denmark
Christian V (15 April 1646 25 August 1699) was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699.
Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the decree ...
in 1683. Major General
Johan Caspar von Cicignon
Johan Caspar von Cicignon (c. 1625 - 12 December 1696) was a Luxembourg-born soldier and military engineer who spent most of his career in the service of Denmark–Norway. He is most associated with the reconstruction of Trondheim, Norway after th ...
developed the plans. During the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
it was manned by up to 1,350 men.
On the night of March 9, 1716, the pyres on the mountaintops announced that
Swedish King Charles XII
Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...
had crossed the border with 1,000 men. Moving rapidly, he found the border poorly guarded and moved with cavalry to
Høland Høland is a former municipality in Akershus county, Norway.
History
Høland was created in 1837 as a formannskapsdistrikt, a Norwegian local self-government district. The district Setskog was separated from Høland to form a separate municipali ...
parsonage. Norwegian troops stationed in the district were assembled by the Basmo commander, Colonel Kruse, who attacked the Swedes in a bloody battle. Charles XII barely escaped capture, but the tide was soon turned against the outnumbered Norwegians, and Kruse, badly wounded, was captured. The Swedes went on to occupy Christiania (now Oslo) without resistance on March 21, 1716, but were ultimately repulsed. Basmo was also in the path of invading Swedish troops during Charles XII's second unsuccessful invasion in 1718.
Basmo was shut down and de-commissioned during 1744–45. Today there is a ruin with barely visible defense works and the stone base of the former tower. In 1987, work was started on restoration of the site.
See also
*
Blaker Fortress
Blaker Fortress (''Blaker skanse'') is a former defense facility located at the village of Blaker in Viken county, Norway.
It was one of the Norwegian fortresses which were constructed in the period of intense competition among the Baltic po ...
*
Christiansfjell Fortress
Christiansfjeld Fortress is a historic fort located in the town of Elverum which is located in Elverum Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway.
History
The fortress was built on a hill on the east side of the river Glomma as one of several mili ...
References
Other sources
*''Norges festninger'' by
Guthorm Kavli
Guthorm Kavli (15 May 1917 – 1 June 1995) was a Norwegian architect and art historian.
Biography
Kavli was born in Trondheim, Norway. He received a degree in architecture from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1941 and a degree in art his ...
; Universitetsforlaget; 1987;
*''History of the Norwegian People'', by Knut Gjerset, MacMillan, 1915.
*''The Struggle for Supremacy in the Baltic: 1600-1725'' by Jill Lisk; Funk & Wagnalls, New York, 1967.
*''The Northern Wars, 1558-1721'' by