Christiansfjeld Fortress is a historic fort located in the town of Elverum which is located in

Elverum Municipality is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Elverum. Other settlements in the municipality include Heradsbygd, Sørsko ...

Innlandet Innlandet is a county in Norway. It was created on 1 January 2020 with the merger of the old counties of Oppland and Hedmark (the municipalities of Jevnaker and Lunner were transferred to the neighboring county of Viken on the same date). The ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

History

The fortress was built on a hill on the east side of the river

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 ...

as one of several military facilities in the vicinity. The fortress was initially established by Danish officer Gustav Wilhelm Wedel Jarlsberg (1641-1717), Count of Wedel-Jarlsberg in 1683. A tower with a cellar powder magazine was among the first buildings at this Norwegian fortress. Originally known as ''Hammersberg Skanse'', during King

Christian V 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 ...

's 1685 visit to Norway he toured the fortification. Recognizing its strategically important location on the Swedish border, he renamed the fortress Christiansfjeld and directed continued improvements. An extensive report of the visit includes illustrations of the fortress at that time. After 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 ...

some of the smaller border forts were determined to be more expensive than their utility justified and they were closed. On July 13, 1742 Christiansfjeld Fortress was closed and the materials were moved to

Kongsvinger Fortress Kongsvinger Fortress ( no, Kongsvinger festning) is located in the city and municipality of Kongsvinger in the county of Hedmark, Norway. It is situated on a hill west and north of the Glomma river, standing astride the ancient Vinger Royal Road, ...

. The fortress never saw combat and had never been besieged. In 1930 the area was cleared as parkland. In 1964, a municipal water tower was built on the site. Today the site is dominated by ruins in a park with a large water tower that supplies Elverum with water.

Commanding officers

Jonas Budde Jonas Budde or Jonas Olufsen Bude, (23 January 1644 – 1710) served a distinguished career in the Norwegian Army, including service at various Norwegian fortresses during the extended period of hostility between Sweden and Denmark-Norway. ...

, (1684-1688) *

Bernt Kretz Bernt is a Scandinavian variant of the German masculine given name Berend, which is the Low German form of Bernard (Bernhard). The name Bernhard means "strong bear" (from Old German ''bero'', "bear", and ''harti'', "strong"). Its use in Sweden wa ...

, (1688-1694) * Jens Flor, (1695-1710) *

Wilhelm Ernst Levin von Treiden Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Moun ...

, (1710-1716) *

Anders Nilsen Wiborg Anders Nilsen Wiborg (c. 1655 – 1718) was the fourth commander of the Christiansfjeld Fortress in Norway. He commanded from 15 January 1717 until his death at Kongsvinger during the Great Northern War on 10 October 1718. He became a second li ...

, (1717-1718) *

Conrad Kaufmann Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...

, (1719-1720) *

Joachim Frederik von Gelhorn Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocrypha ...

, (1720-1727) *

Jens Aamodt Jens may refer to: * Jens (given name), a list of people with the name * Jens (surname), a list of people * Jens, Switzerland, a municipality * 1719 Jens, an asteroid See also * Jensen (disambiguation) * Jenssi Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) ...

, (1727-1729) *

Hans Parelius Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

, (1729-1742)

References

Other sources

External links

Christiansfjeld Fortress
Ruins in Norway Forts in Norway Military installations in Innlandet Elverum {{Fort-stub