Älvsborg Fortress (), with its main facility Oscar II's Fort () built 1899–1907, is a now-defunct Swedish fortification located at the mouth of the Göta River in the Älvsborg district of

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden.

History

Construction of the fortress began in 1899 and was completed in modern condition in 1907. In 1904 the name Älvsborg Fortress was given to the new coastal fortress at the mouth of the Göta River, whose strongest fortification, Oscar II's Fort, started construction in 1899 on Västerberget. The fortress, whose task, like previous fortresses, was to secure both

and the

Port of Gothenburg The Gothenburg Municipality, municipally-owned Port of Gothenburg () is the largest port in the Nordic countries, with over 11,000 ship visits per year from over 140 destinations worldwide. As the only Swedish port with the capacity to cope with ...

and the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

's rallying point there against attacks from the sea, was in 1907 equipped with new modern artillery guns. The main body of the fortress consisted of two 24 cm guns model of 1904 mounted on disappearing carriages and some 15 cm gun turrets and other light guns. The fort, which is immersed in the

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

, encompasses space for 300 people and consists of several hundred meters of walkways with offices, lodgings,

mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

es and stores. The fort's armament was completed in 1907. In addition to naval mines around the flanks, there was also a light battery, the ''Götiska batteriet'' ("Geatish Battery") donated by the

Geatish Society The Geatish Society (''Götiska Förbundet'', also Gothic Union, Gothic League) was created by a number of Swedish poets and authors in 1811, as a social club for literary studies among academics in Sweden, with a view to raising the moral tone ...

. On King

Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. He is popularly referred to as the Knight King (, ) or Soldier King (, ) in Belgium in reference to his role during World War I ...

's arrival and departure from Gothenburg in connection with the visit of the then Crown Prince Leopold's wedding to Princess Astrid on 4 November 1926, a greeting was fired from Älvsborg Fortress. This was at the same time KA 3's farewell salute and the last salute given by Älvsborg Fortress. On 1 November of the same year, the fortress had already been placed into materiel reserve. Prior to the threatening foreign policy situation, the fortress was put in the defensive state in the fall of 1939. Oscar II's Fort lost its guns in 1939-1940 with the exception of the ''Götiska batteriet'', when they were moved to the main defense line on the outskirts of

Gothenburg archipelago The archipelago of Gothenburg () comprises northern and southern archipelagoes. The southern archipelago is part of Gothenburg municipality located in the province of Västergötland while the northern archipelago is Öckerö municipality, located ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the fortress and the fortress area were used for accommodation, etc. In 1942, Älvsborg Fortress was amalgamated into Gothenburg Coastal Artillery Defence, which, with its fortifications, batteries and mine barriers in the Gothenburg archipelago, took over the traditional defence of Gothenburg. Until the 1970s, the fortress spaces were used for storage. Due to a significant deterioration of the internal passages and spaces, the fortress was completely disbanded during the 1970s. The fortress became a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

on 15 March 2018.

Staffing of Älvsborg Fortress

Staffing: *1902: one officer, three non-commissioned officers and 28 men *1912–1914: eight officers, 19 non-commissioned officers and 123 men *1915–1919: nine officers, 19 non-commissioned officers and 123 men *1912–1925 ten officers, 41, non-commissioned officers and 103 men *1926–1940: one officer, four non-commissioned officers and 9 men, as well as *1940–1942: a gradual increase in personnel

Commandants

Commandants: *1908–1914: Sam Bolling *1914–1924: Arthur Edström *1924–1925: Hans Malmberg *1925–1927: Karl Norén *1927–1930: Gustaf Peterson *1930–1936: Folke Eriksson *1936–1939: Sigge Hultkrantz *1939–1941: Åke Wockatz *1941–1942: Rudolf Kolmodin

Guns

File:24 cm cannon M04 at Älvsborgs fästning.JPG, 24 cm gun M/04, one of two of this type. File:24 cm cannon M04 at Älvsborgs fästning (2).JPG, 24 cm gun M/04, one of two of this type. File:Naval gun at Älvsborgs fästning in Gothenburg.JPG, 15 cm gun, one of two of this type of coastal artillery gun. File:Naval gun at Älvsborgs fästning in Gothenburg (2).JPG, 15 cm gun, one of two of this type of coastal artillery gun.

References

{{Gothenburg Forts in Sweden Gothenburg Garrison Buildings and structures in Gothenburg Coastal fortifications Listed buildings in Gothenburg 1907 establishments in Sweden 1900s establishments in Gothenburg and Bohus County