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'Hammershus' is a former Danish fortress located on ''Hammeren'', the northern tip of Bornholm and erected in the 12th century. It is located 74 meters above sea level. It was Valdemar the Victorious and not the Archbishop of Lund who commissioned the construction of northern Europe's largest medieval fortification, Hammershus castle.
New evidence found at the ruins of the castle suggests it was constructed very early in the 13th century as a royal residence for Valdemar II and a base for the Danish crusades - not as a private residence for the archbishop as previously believed, according to Kjeld Borch Westh, superintendent of the National Museum.
Hammershus is built on the highest hill of Baltic island Bornholm with views toward Sweden. It consists of the base castle residence and accompanying Mantel Tower, and includes a great stonewall stretching 750 metres around the castle grounds.
Bricks found at the tower during the renovation led Westh and other experts to revise their theory on when the structure was originally constructed, moving back the date from around 1255 to the beginning of the century, when Valdemar became king.

Contents

History

Description

Art and Kunstmuseum

Sources

History

During a number of successive struggles between the kings of Denmark versus the Archbishopric the fortress was conquered by the king's army on a number of occasions, e.g. 1259, 1265, 1319, and 1325. In 1521, it was taken by king Christian II who used it to imprison Bishop Jens Andersen Beldenak of Funen. The fortress was conquered by forces of Lübeck the same year.
In 1658, Hammershus was occupied by Swedish forces but a rebellion on the island terminated the Swedish rule and Sweden returned sovereignty of the island to Denmark in 1660. Corfitz Ulfeldt and his wife Leonora Christina were imprisoned in Hammershus 1660–1661, and the fortress was used as a prison on several other occasions.
The fortress was partially demolished around 1750 and is now a ruin. It was partially restored around 1900.

Description

Visitors to Hammershus have a spectacular view of Sweden and the sea surrounding the island. South of the castle is a deep valley, water filled hollows, and dense forest. There are numerous points before arriving at castle where enemies could be stopped.
The castle was built with box-like rooms surrounded by rings of fortifications. Each provided an additional layer of protection from invaders. Two natural spring ponds provided fresh drinking water on side of castle. Five centuries of unrest and power struggles followed between Scandinavian monarchs.
Hammershus Fortress features a 750 metre-long perimeter wall and features a grand tower called the "mantel" tower.
Hammershus is the largest medieval fortification in Northern Europe.[1]

Art and Kunstmuseum

Because of the unusual pure light on Bornholm and because it has only 4 hours of darkness in summer, many of Denmark's earliest artists painted spectacular views of Hammerhaus. One of the most famous is by Anton E. Kieldrup (1827-1869), created in 1849, which is on display at Bornholm's Museum of Art ("Kunstmuseum").

Sources

★ ''Bornholm Tourist Guide''; personal visits of author to Hammershus and the "Kunstmuseum".

★ ''This article is partially based on the corresponding articles on the Swedish and German Wikipedias, accessed on July 20 2006.''