Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Halden
Pop 24,410
The soporific border town of Halden, at the end of Iddefjord between steep rocky head-
lands, possesses a hugely significant history as a cornerstone of Norwegian defence
through centuries of Swedish aggression. With a pretty little harbour filled with yachts, a
looming fortress rising up behind the town and a sprinkling of decent restaurants, this
place makes a worthwhile detour.
9am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat & Sun mid-Jun-mid-Aug, 9am-3.30pm Mon-Fri rest of yr)
,
just off Torget, has some useful information.
History
Halden served as a garrison during the Hannibal Wars from 1643 to 1645. From 1644 it
was fortified with a wooden stockade. In the 1658 Roskilde Treaty between Sweden and
Denmark, Norway lost its Bohuslän province (and Bohus fortress), and Halden was left
exposed as a border outpost requiring heavy defences. When attacks by Swedish forces in
1658, 1659 and 1660 were scarcely repelled, the need for better fortification became ap-
parent, resulting in the fortress, which was begun in 1661.
In the midst of it all, in 1659 and 1716, the Halden resistance resorted to fire to drive out
the enemy, a sacrifice honoured with a mention in the Norwegian national anthem, which
includes the lines: '…we chose to burn our nation, lest we let it fall'. The fires also serve as
a centrepiece for a museum in the fortress on the town's history.
Further attacks from the Swedes continued into the 19th century. In the first few years
of the 20th century, Fredriksten Fortress was armed with increasingly powerful modern
cannons, turret guns and howitzers. However, this firepower was removed during the 1906
negotiations for the dissolution of the Swedish-Norwegian union and the town nestled into
life as a quiet seaside village.
Sights
Fredriksten Fortress & Museums
FORTRESS, MUSEUM
