Fredriksholm Fortress (''Fredriksholm festning'') was situated on an

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

off

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

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 ...

. Today the former fortress is in ruins and the site is a popular place for sightseeing. Friderichsholms Fæstning - no-nb krt 00878

Complex

Fredriksholm Fortress was located one kilometer north of the precursor,

Christiansø Fortress Christiansø Fortress is one of the historic Norwegian fortresses, which commands the western approaches to Flekkerøy harbor, at Kristiansand municipality in Norway. History In the early 17th century the struggle between the Netherlands Navy ...

on Gammeløya. Both fortresses were built to protect

Flekkerøy Flekkerøy or Flekkerøya is an island and residential district in Kristiansand municipality in Agder county, Norway. The district is located within the borough of Vågsbygd, and it consists of 4 main neighborhoods: Berge/Andås, Kjære, Lindeb� ...

port. The construction of Frederiksholm Fortress was begun in 1655. After the fort Christiansø was abandoned on 1 May 1658, the stones, building materials and other useful material were transferred to Fredriksholm. The new fortress was completed in 1662. It is named after

Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bi ...

. The fortress was divided into a lower and an upper part. The lower part was a wall that followed the shoreline. The upper part had a tower with a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

and 2

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to fac ...

es. The tower was the residence of the commander, and this was also the royal chambers. Otherwise, there were a number of large and small houses in the Fort area. Fortress walls were of stone, covered outside with turf and palisadeverk. The

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

was taken from a cemetery wall in such large quantities that the coffins were almost uncovered. Within the wall there was a gallery. When the fortress was completed, consisted the

luminaire A light fixture (US English), light fitting (UK English), or luminaire is an electrical device containing an electric lamp that provides illumination. All light fixtures have a fixture body and one or more lamps. The lamps may be in sockets fo ...

of 14

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s on the lower part and 10 guns on the upper. The fortress was originally armed with 24 guns from 2-to 34 pounds. In 1700 the fortress was at its largest, armed with 50 cannons.

Garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

was in 1658 on the 24 man. The strength of the fortress, however, varied depending on the threat of war and the season. It could be up to 110 men at the castle during the summer, while there were around 30 in winter. Fredriksholm was timed to be able to accommodate 300 men. On the mainland in the north was in 1808–1809 built a defense battery which had the task to cover the land by Fredriksholm. The area known as Batteriodden. Batteriodden was staffed with 96

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

and 48

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

men. The battery was ''abandoned'' around 1850.

Destruction

In 1804 the castle was abandoned. Kristiansand had become more important and more recent and important military facilities, including

Christiansholm Fortress Christiansholm Fortress (''Christiansholm festning'') was a Norwegian fortress built to defend the city of Kristiansand. Background The fortress was finished in 1672 and formed a part of King Christian IV's plan for defense of Kristiansand when ...

and Lagmannsholmen, which was built over four kilometers further up the fjord to protect the city and harbor.

British attack

On 18 September 1807 during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

(see also the

Gunboat War The Gunboat War (, ; 1807–1814) was a naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the materially superior Royal Nav ...

) the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

ship along with two other ships arrived in Kristiansand. The ships returned after it being fired on by Christiansholm. The ship commander decided to adopt the abandoned fortress Fredriksholm in the fjord, and sprinkle it in the air. The blast cost four Englishmen their lives because the explosion was long in coming. Four men were therefore ordered ashore to see if the

fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...

s had gone out. They had not. The fortress was partially set in order again in 1808 and then in 1874 to be closed down for good.

Amundsen's South Pole expedition

When

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...

set out on the expedition to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

in 1910,

harbor was last stop in Norway before departure. At the fortress Fredriksholm nearly a hundred Greenland dogs stayed in anticipation of getting on board the Amundsen's ship

Fram Fram may refer to: Ships * ''Fram'' (ship), an arctic exploration vessel from Norway * MS ''Fram'', expedition cruise ship owned by Hurtigruten Group Places and geography * Fram, Paraguay, a town in Itapúa, Paraguay * Fram Formation, a se ...

. 98 dogs (two had died along the way) arrived at Fredriksholm from Greenland on board the steamer Hans Egede on 4 July 1910. The dogs had been brought from Greenland to Kristiansand to be examined by the State Veterinarian (''Stats Dyrlegen''), Christopher Juell in order to check the health of the dogs. The dogs were at Fredriksholm for a little over a month, until 9 August, when they were brought aboard the Fram at the start of

Amundsen's South Pole expedition The first ever expedition to reach the South Pole, geographic Southern Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon ...

Literature in Norwegian

* Helland-Hansen, Kjeld (1957) ''Fredriksholm Festning'' (Oddernes kommune) * Fjørtoft, Jan Egil (1985) ''Kanonene ved Skagerak'' (Agdin Forlag) * Hauschild Fredriksen, Karl (2007) ''Hærens Artilleri i Kristiansandsområdet 1556–1995''

References

{{Fortifications of Kristiansand Ruins in Norway Fortifications of Kristiansand Buildings and structures in Kristiansand Forts in Norway