Carlstad was a short lived

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

ified town in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

built by the forces of King

Charles X Gustav Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

of Sweden during his

assault on Copenhagen (1659) The Battle of Copenhagen also known as the Assault on Copenhagen on 11 February 1659 was a major battle during the Second Northern War, taking place during the siege of Copenhagen by the Swedish army. Background During the Northern Wars, th ...

. At its peak, Carlstad's size rivalled the besieged Danish capital, reaching a peak of approx. 30,000 inhabitants. Carlstad's population, primarily consisting of army personnel and followers, rivalled that of Copenhagen itself.

History

After a successful campaign of

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

, and

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, Charles X Gustav began a siege of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

intending to remove his country's traditional enemy once and for all. He decided to encamp his army to the west of the city with its centre on the village

Brønshøj Brønshøj, part of the municipality of Copenhagen, forms, together with Husum, the administrative city district (''bydel'') of Brønshøj-Husum, in Denmark. History The first mention of the village Brønshøj (Brunshoga), is in a letter dated ...

, now a northwestern Copenhagen district. The site occupied an elevated position 4 km from the Danish capital. The

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

features of the site were applied for strategic use. With its location significantly higher than Copenhagen, Bellahøj ridge provided a natural eastern rampart, also providing a view over the besieged city. Carlstad's northern site was flanked by a great

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

. The land descended to the west and south of the camp.

Legacy

No evidence of the fortress earthwork have been preserved. Brønshøj Museum contains information from the Swedish wars 1658-1660 including a number of artifacts and models of the fortress. The modern Copenhagen districts of

Bellahøj Bellahøj is an area situated 5 kilometres to the northwest of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It features the Bellahøj Houses, a functionalist housing project, as well as parkland with an open-air theatre. The 37 metre high hill situated in Bellah� ...

and

Utterslev Utterslev is a neighbourhood in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Utterslev is centered on Utterslev Torv (Utterslev Square) and is most known for the Utterslev Mose marshland which straddles the border with Gladsaxe Municipality to ...

are located on or near the site. Several nearby streets are named for it; e.g. ''Svenskelejren'' (Swedish Camp) and ''Skansebjerg'' (Trench Hill). The only preserved building extant at the time of the encampment is

Brønshøj Church Brønshøj Church is a Church of Denmark parish church in Brønshøj, Copenhagen, Denmark. History The church was built in the 1180s in the Romanesque style by bishop Absalon using chalk ashlar. Its original dedication was to saint Laurence and ...

(''Brønshøj Kirke''). During the Swedish occupation, the church's interior was destroyed and the building used as an armoury and weapons store.

References

Other sources

*Sebastian Olden-Jørgensen (2011)''Stormen på København 1659 – Et københavnsk og nationalt erindringssted gennem 350 år'' (Museum Tusculanums Forlag)

External links

Brønshøj Museum
{{coord, 55, 42, 13, N, 12, 30, 15, E, type:city_region:DK, display=title Former buildings and structures in Denmark 17th century in Copenhagen Fortifications of Copenhagen