Hammershus

Last updated
Hammershus. Burg Hammershus 5.jpg
Hammershus.
Hammershus Hammershus 001.JPG
Hammershus

Hammershus is a medieval era fortification at Hammeren on the northern tip of the Danish island of Bornholm. The fortress was partially demolished around 1750 and is now a ruin. It was partially restored around 1900. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Ruins of Hammershus
Anton Eduard Kieldrup (1848) 1848 Kieldrup Die Ruinen von Hammershus anagoria.JPG
Ruins of Hammershus
Anton Eduard Kieldrup (1848)

Hammershus was Scandinavia's largest medieval fortification and is one of the largest medieval fortifications in Northern Europe. [3] It is situated in the Baltic Sea 74 metres (243 ft) above sea level. The fortification was erected in the 13th century and consists of the base castle residence and features a grand tower called the "mantel" tower. Hammershus Fortress features a 750-metre-long (2,460 ft) perimeter wall around the castle grounds. [1]

During a number of successive struggles between the kings of Denmark versus the Archbishopric, the fortress served as a refuge for the Archbishops including Bishop Jens Grand. It 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. [4] [5]

In 1658, Hammershus was occupied by Swedish forces, but a rebellion on the island terminated the Swedish rule. The rebels, led by Jens Pedersen Kofoed, shot the Swedish commandant Johan Printzenskiöld, and the Danish peasants traveled to Copenhagen to return the island to the king of Denmark.

Corfitz Ulfeldt and his wife Leonora Christina were imprisoned in Hammershus 16601661.

Johann Conrad Dippel the German Pietist theologian, physician, alchemist and occultist were held imprisoned from 1719 to 1724 [6] at Hammershus.

In 1743 Hammershus was abandoned as a stronghold. The remains were preserved in 1822. Since the major excavation and restoration work in the late 1800s, there has been a continuous maintenance of the ruins. [7] [8] [9]

Description

Visitors to Hammershus have views of the coastline and the sea surrounding Bornholm. South of the castle is a deep valley, water filled hollows, and dense forest. There are a number 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 the side of the castle.

Art

Because of the unusual light on Bornholm, and because it has only four hours of darkness in summer, many of Denmark's earliest artists chose to paint views of Hammerhus. One of the most notable is by Anton Eduard Kieldrup from 1848, which is on display at the Bornholm Art Museum. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corfitz Ulfeldt</span> Danish statesman

Count Corfits Ulfeldt was a Danish statesman, and considered one of the most notorious traitors in Danish history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristian Zahrtmann</span> Danish painter (1843–1917)

Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, was a Danish painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and Theodor Esbern Philipsen, who broke away from both the strictures of traditional Academicism and the heritage of the Golden Age of Danish Painting, in favor of naturalism and realism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonora Christina Ulfeldt</span>

Leonora Christina, Countess Ulfeldt, born "Countess Leonora Christina Christiansdatter" til Slesvig og Holsten, was the daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark and wife of Steward of the Realm, traitor Count Corfitz Ulfeldt. Renowned in Denmark since the 19th century for her posthumously published autobiography, Jammers Minde, written secretly during two decades of solitary confinement in a royal dungeon, her intimate version of the major events she witnessed in Europe's history, interwoven with ruminations on her woes as a political prisoner, still commands popular interest, scholarly respect, and has virtually become the stuff of legend as retold and enlivened in Danish literature and art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bosjökloster</span>

Bosjökloster is a castle located on the shore of Lake Ringsjön in Höör Municipality, Scania, Sweden.

Corfits Mogensen Ulfeldt was a Danish naval officer. He was a cousin of the much more famous traitor Corfitz Ulfeldt (1606–1664). He is known in the annals of whaling as the man who drove the French out of Spitsbergen. Ulfeldt later fought and died in the Torstenson War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dina Vinhofvers</span>

Dina Vinhofvers was a Danish silk worker who became famous because of her involvement in an alleged conspiracy of Danish statesman Corfitz Ulfeldt (1606–1664) against King Frederick III of Denmark in 1650–51.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Marsvin</span> Danish noble, landowner and county administrator

Ellen Marsvin was a Danish noble, landowner and county administrator. She was the mother-in-law of King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway, the mother of Kirsten Munk (1598–1658) and grandmother of Leonora Christina Ulfeldt (1621–1698).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hedevig Ulfeldt</span>

Hedwig of Schleswig-Holstein was the daughter of king Christian IV of Denmark and Kirsten Munk. She was the twin of her sister Christiane Sehested. She shared the title Countess of Schleswig-Holstein with her mother and siblings.

Sophie Amalie Lindenov, Baroness of Lindenborg was a Danish noblewoman and landowner. She was Baroness of Lindenborg and the owner of Lindenborg Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joachim Gersdorff</span> Danish politician

Joachim Gersdorff was a Danish politician, from 1650 to 1660 Steward of the Danish Realm. It was Gersdorff who negotiated the Treaty of Roskilde on Denmark's part during the Second Northern War, a war he had himself been in favour of entering. Through this treaty, which was concluded in Roskilde on 8 March 1658 (NS), the eastern Danish provinces of Scania, Halland, Blekinge and Bornholm were ceded to Sweden.

The following is a list of events that occurred in the year 1661 in Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holckenhavn Castle</span> Manor house in Funen, Denmark

Holckenhavn Castle is a manor house located next to Holckenhavn Fjord, an arm of the Great Belt, just south of Nyborg on the east coast of Funen, Denmark. The current Renaissance castle was built in the late 16th and early 17th century by three consecutive owners. Previously known both as Ulfeldtsholm and Ellensborg, it received its current name in 1672 when it was acquired by Eiler Holck, who at the same time founded the Barony of Holckenhavn. The estate has been in the possession of his family ever since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrik Bielke</span>

Henrik Bjelke was a Norwegian military officer who served as Admiral of the Realm of Denmark-Norway from 1662 to 1679. He was in command of the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy from 1657 to 1679.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niels Trolle</span> Danish nobleman

Niels Trolle til Trollesholm og Gavnø was a Danish nobleman who served as vice admiral under Christian IV and later as Steward of Norway from 1656 to 1661. He played a central administrative role during the Nordic War.

Events from the year 1643 in Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iver Krabbe</span> Danish nobleman and military officer

Iver Krabbe was a Danish nobleman, military officer, and governor-general in Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitus Bering (1617–1675)</span> Danish poet and historian (1617–1675)

Vitus Pedersen Bering was a Danish poet and historian. He served as Danish Historiographer Royal and was the great uncle of the explorer Vitus Bering (1681–1741).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kai Lykke</span> Danish nobleman and courtier

Kai Lykke or Cai Lykke was a Danish nobleman and courtier.

Saltø is a manor house and estate located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Næstved in southeastern Denmark. The estate was acquired by Carl Adolph von Plessen in 1725 and had been owned by the von Plessen family since then. The main building from the second half of the 16th century and two half-timbered buildings from the second half of the 18th century were listed on the Danish registry of protected buildings and places in 1918. The estate covers 1,050 hectares (10.5 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mogens Ulfeldt</span>

Mogens Ulfeldt was a Danish naval officer and landowner. He served as Admiral of the Realm from 1610.

References

  1. 1 2 "Hammershus". bornholm.info. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  2. "Hammershus Castle Ruins". VisitDenmark. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. Bornholm Museum
  4. "Jens Grand". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. 4 March 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  5. "Andersen, Jens Biskop i Fyn". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  6. "Johann Conrad Dippel". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. 23 April 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  7. "Corfitz Ulfeldt". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  8. "Leonora Christina". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  9. "Ruiner/Hammershus". Nationalmuseet. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  10. "Anton Eduard Kieldrup". HaderslevWiki. Retrieved July 1, 2020.

Other sources

55°16′15″N14°45′18″E / 55.27083°N 14.75500°E / 55.27083; 14.75500