Norske Løve is the name of a 19th-century fortress built from 1852 to 1859 to protect
Karljohansvern
Karjohansvern (''Karljohansvern Orlogsstasjon, KJV'') at Horten was the main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy from 1850 to 1963.
Background
In 1818, it was decided to establish a naval base in Horten. It was first called ''Hortens verft'', ...
naval station at
Horten
Horten () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Horten (town) ...
in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
.
Overview
Norske Løve (literally, 'Norwegian Lion') is a reference to the lion on the
Coat of Arms of Norway
The coat of arms of Norway is the arms of dominion of King Harald V of Norway, and as such represents both the monarch and the Norway, kingdom (nation and the state). It depicts a standing Or (heraldry), golden lion (heraldry), lion on a Gules, r ...
. The fort is still a military area, but is today only used as an administration building for the Norwegian naval officers training school.
The fort was constructed by
Baltazar Nicolai Garben. The primary construction material was limestone, reinforced with granite. The fortress structure was fitted with heavy artillery on several floors protected by casemates. It has a moat which can be filled with water and was originally fitted with a circular envelope with 22 open
casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...
s each holding a 3-ton cannon. The fort originally had a complement of 500 men. The open casemates were walled up by the
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
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 ...
, but otherwise the fort is largely in its original form.
''Balthazar Nicolai Garben'' (Store Norske Leksikon)
/ref>
Picture Gallery
File:Norskelove1.JPG, Norske Løve, fortress seen from the south
File:Norskelove2.JPG, Norske Løve, south-western part of the fortress
File:VealøsNorskeLøve3.JPG, Norske Løve, fortress on Vealøs
File:Norskeløveinngang.JPG, Norske Løve, gateway
File:Norskeløveinngang2.JPG, Norske Løve, outer wall and moat at the entrance
See also
* Citadellet
References
External links
Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage site with an image of the gate
Norwegian navy page with an image of the fort at the bottom.
Forts in Norway
Royal Norwegian Navy
Military installations in Vestfold
1852 establishments in Norway
Horten
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