PHOTO FEATURE: Flags flew, canons roared and churchbells rang all over Norway on Saturday, when the country could mark 120 years since its unhappy union with Sweden ended on June 7, 1905. At a time of major international unrest, it’s easy to forget how close the two Scandinavian neighbours came to the brink of war themselves, and how Norway later had to destroy forts it had built along the Swedish border.
There was a time, not all that long ago, when Norway’s guns and canons were aimed at Sweden. Norwegians keen on having their own foreign policy, embassies and consulates abroad (and not least sovereignty) wanted to break out of the union they’d felt forced into in the early 1800s.
They launched a relatively quiet effort to defend themselves in case the Swedes remained firm in preventing Norway from going its own way. A new series of forts (in addition to the much grander ones erected by the Danes at Halden and Kongsvinger when Norway was still part of Denmark) were built along the border in what’s now known as inner Østfold county. The Norwegians risked provoking the Swedes, but were determined to fend off their neighbours should the need arise.
There were lots of delicate issues to tackle, though, before the Swedish king at the time reluctantly gave up the union. Negotiations in Karlstad in September 1905 resulted in a peace pact that finally granted full sovereignty to Norway. One of the conditions, though, was that Urskog Fort and others built near the border would be demolished.
That wasn’t popular with the local communities that had felt threatened by Sweden and invested quite a lot in their then-new forts along the border. It wasn’t until 1980 that the local municipality of Aurskog-Høland, where the Urskog Fort was located, and its local Rotary Club launched an effort to restore the fort to the best of their ability. They have since excavated much of the fort’s remains, its tunnels and ammunition storage vaults and even some earlier barracks for the hundreds of soldiers once stationed there. Today they’re home to picnic tables and outdoor barbecues, for those enjoying the nature and views.
Farther south along Highway 21, dubbed Villmarksveien (The Wildlife Road), and a bit to the west, lie also the remains of the Basmo Fort, which dates back to 1684 when the king of Denmark (which controlled Norway at the time) approved plans to have better military control after years of wars against the Swedes. King Christian V commissioned a fort with an 18-meter-high tower and 24 canons aimed at Sweden.
The main route between Stockholm and Oslo (then still called Christiania) passed through the area, so Basmo was an important structure. It turned out, though, to be expensive to maintain and it was decommisioned as early as 1744. Farther west were also the Trøgstad- and Høytorp forts, along with other military installations aimed at stopping any Swedes venturing farther towards Christianina.
Even farther south along the border full of modest border crossings to Sweden lies the town of Ørje, which many Norwegians pass through on the main E18 highway between Oslo and Stockholm. Ørje is best known for its canals that once transported timber and other goods south to Halden and then out to sea.
Hovering over the town, however, and hidden among the trees are the remains of yet another defense complex, also facing east towards Sweden and encompassing Lihammeren Fort and Ørjekollen Fort. They’re connected by hiking trails and were also built just before tensions hit the boiling point in 1905. The forts were in place by 1903 and covered the older road that became the E18 highway, then the most important road between Sweden and Norway.
As many as 1,300 soldiers were stationed at the forts, viewed as modern and protected by barbed wire fences and trenches. The Swedes viewed them as difficult if not impossible to conquer through infantry attacks, and they, too, were ordered demolished after the peace treaty between Norway and Sweden was signed at Karlstad in 1905. Now they’re also open year-round to the public, for those keen to wander around what now are preserved ruins under Norwegian law.
Grandest of all the fortifications along the Norwegian border is Fredriksten, which towers above the southern town of Halden, formerly called Fredrikshald after the Danish King Fredrik. It’s an impressive sight, and its canons still roar on special occasions like Norway’s Constitution Day on the 17th of May.
Norway fell under Danish rule after its own royalty and aristocracy was all but wiped out by the plague in 1349. That led to what many still call Norway’s “400-year night” that lasted until Denmark lost Norway to the Swedes shortly after 1800. Construction of Fredriksten began in 1661, two decades before Basmo, and it came under attack by Swedish forces on at least six occasions but never fell.
There were a series of wars between Swedish and Danish-Norwegian forces that also spread north to Trondheim. It ultimately remained with Norway while Denmark lost the southern coastal area known as Bohuslen to Sweden.
Today Fredriksten remains the pride of Halden, with well-preserved buildings inside the fortress walls that now contain a museum, two restaurants and other visitor services, especially when summer concerts and opera unfold just outside.
It’s all a reminder that what’s now widely viewed as a peaceful part of the world wasn’t always so. The biggest and most recent difference is how all the Scandinavian and Nordic countries including Sweden and Finland are now members of NATO and cooperating more closely than ever before since neighbouring Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Now they’re jointly committed to defending themselves against Russia, should the need arise.
PHOTOS: NewsinEnglish.no/Morten Møst
TEXT: NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund