Blaker Fortress (''Blaker skanse'') is a former defense facility located at the village of

Blaker Blaker is a village and a former municipality of Akershus county, Norway. History The municipality was established on 1 July 1919, when Aurskog was split in two. At the time of establishment, Blaker had a population of 2,533. On 1 January 1962 ...

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. It was one of the

Norwegian fortresses Norwegian fortresses or fortifications have been constructed from some of the earliest recorded periods, down through the 20th century. The geography and topography of glacially carved, mountainous Norway constrain both the sea and the land rout ...

which were constructed in the period of intense competition among the Baltic powers (Denmark-Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland and the German states) for northern supremacy. In 1675

Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, Count of Laurvig (20 July 1638 – 17 April 1704) was Governor-general of Norway (''Stattholdere i Norge'') from 1664–1699. He was the leading general in Norway during the Scanian War, whose Norwegian leg is conventio ...

, Governor-general of Norway, indicated an intent to construct a fortress in the

Glomma The Glomma, or Glåma, is Norway's longest and most voluminous river. With a total length of , it has a drainage basin that covers fully 13% of Norway's surface area, all in the southern part of the country. Geography At its fullest length, the ...

river where

lies as part of his general program of Norwegian fortification upgrades. His objective was a stronghold available both to serve as a safe defensive position when necessary and a location to station troops who could take the offensive against invaders when the opportunity availed itself. Blaker Fortress saw action in 1718, when it was surrounded by the invading Swedish army, but the siege collapsed upon the death of King

Charles XII of Sweden 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 ...

in front of

Fredriksten Fortress Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway. History This Fortresses was constructed by Denmark-Norway in the 17th century as a replacement for the border fortress at Bohus, which had been lost when the province of Bohuslän wa ...

. The 17th and beginning of the 18th century was a period of virtually continuous war or preparation for war, as follows: * 1611 to 1613 -

Kalmar War The Kalmar War (1611–1613) was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark-Norway soon gained the upper hand, it was unable to defeat Sweden entirely. The Kalmar War was the last time Denmark-Norway successfully defended its '' do ...

* 1618 to 1648 -

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

* 1655 to 1658 –

Northern Wars "Northern Wars" is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. An internationally agreed-on nomenclature for these wars has not yet been devised. While the Great Northern War is gen ...

* 1673 to 1675 –

Fortification Upgrades Fortification Upgrades (1673–1675) was a re-organization of military forces and strengthening of the defenses of Norway. The Norwegian army in this period became much better prepared for conflict with Sweden than in any previous period. It numbe ...

* 1675 to 1679 –

Gyldenløve War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...

* 1700 to 1721 –

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 ...

Blaker Fortress was de-commissioned as a fortress in 1820, but remained a military area until 1893. From 1917 to 2003, Statens Husflidsskole (now University College of Akershus conducted classes on site.

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;

External links

Blaker Fortress website

Akershus county museum
Forts in Norway Sørum Military installations in Viken {{Fort-stub