Altenhus Fortress
| Altenhus Fortress | |
|---|---|
| Altenhus festning | |
| Årøya, Finnmark, Norway | |
| Type | Two-storey cross-shaped blockhouse with ramparts and a palisade |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Denmark-Norway |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1610–11 |
| In use | 1611–13 (as a fortress) 1613–c. early 1690s (as a prison) |
| Materials | Timber and earthworks |
| Fate | Blockhouse dismantled, remains of earth ramparts still visible |
| Events | Kalmar War (1611–13) |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders |
Thomas Køningham |
| Garrison | Commander and unknown number of soldiers, an armed galley, two horses |
Altenhus Fortress (Norwegian: Altenhus festning; also Kongshus Fortress) was a fortification built on the island of Årøya in the Alta area of Finnmark, Norway in 1610.
Altenhus Fortress was intended to prevent Swedish incursions into the area, and secure the rich salmon fisheries for the Dano-Norwegian state. The structure only remained in military use for three years, before being abandoned and used as a prison until 1692, when the timber of the fortress' blockhouse was used in the construction of a church.
Due to the ongoing struggles between Denmark-Norway and the Swedish Empire in the early 1600s, the Dano-Norwegian king, Christian IV wanted to secure the western areas of the border-less far northern region of Finnmark against Swedish incursions. By building a fortress on the island of Årøya in the Altafjord, the rich salmon fisheries of the Alta River could also be protected. Christian IV had a strong interest in the Finnmark region, having personally led a naval expedition along the coast of Norway, as far as the then-disputed Kola Peninsula in present-day Russia. The king had also ordered the refurbishment of the old Vardøhus Fortress in eastern Finnmark.
By 1610, officials representing the Dano-Norwegian and Swedish empires had struggled for several years over who would tax the indigenous Sami people living in the Alta area of Finnmark, and who would control the rich salmon fisheries of the Alta River. The Dano-Norwegian governor of Finnmark had had built in the 1560s a Goahti (earthen hut) near the river to house one of his bailiffs during the salmon season. From 1605 onwards Charles IX of Sweden laid claim on equal taxation rights on the salmon fisheries in the Alta River as that of the Dano-Norwegian king, and from 1606 competing Dano-Norwegian and Swedish tax collectors demanded taxes and, in the case of the Swedes, labour from the Samis fishing in the river. The conflict came to a violent confrontation in 1607, the Swedes being driven away by Norwegian fishermen. Further Swedish attempts at gaining a foothold near the river lead to further clashes in 1609, and in 1610 the Swedes made an unsuccessful attempt at bringing troops to Alta, intending to build a fortification there.
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Wikipedia