Fortress
The fortress was invested numerous times, but was never captured. During the Northern Seven Years' War (1563–1570) it was seriously damaged. This occurred in 1566, when 250 Swedish soldiers successfully stormed the northeastern-most tower. The Norwegian commander sent a volunteer to blow up the ammunition stores underneath the tower, killing the Swedes and repelling the attack. As a reward the family of the volunteer got a piece of land which is still in property of the descendants of this volunteer.
The Norwegians rebuilt the fortress of stone and brick, and substantially reinforced it. The reconstruction immediately after the war was directed by Hans Paaske (Påske) from the Netherlands.
In 1593-1604, similar to the construction then undertaken at Akershus in Oslo, Bohus was upgraded to a bastion fortress. A new outer fortification was raised. This construction was one of the early works by Hans van Steenwinckel, also from the Netherlands, who was later famous for his Dutch Renaissance style design in Denmark.
As Swedish invasions continuously threatened Norwegian Båhuslen in this period, the improvements to the fortifications continued for years. For example from the summer of 1651 through the autumn of 1652 the Dutch engineer Isaac van Geelkerck directed the construction of two corner towers along the south face and a new ring wall was constructed around the arsenal building.
Read more about this topic: Bohus Fortress
Famous quotes containing the word fortress:
“There is no man who desires as passionately as a Russian. If we could imprison a Russian desire beneath a fortress, that fortress would explode.”
—Joseph De Maistre (1753–1821)
“a fortress against ideas and against the
Shuddering insidious shock of the theory-vendors
The little sardine men crammed in a monster toy
Who tilt their aggregate beast against our crumbling Troy.”
—Louis MacNeice (1907–1963)
“He began therefore to invest the fortress of my heart by a circumvallation of distant bows and respectful looks; he then entrenched his forces in the deep caution of never uttering an unguarded word or syllable. His designs being yet covered, he played off from several quarters a large battery of compliments. But here he found a repulse from the enemy by an absolute rejection of such fulsome praise, and this forced him back again close into his former trenches.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)