Basmo fortress is located in the north-western part of Marker

Marker, Norway

Marker is a municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ørje. Marker was created as a new municipality on 1 January 1964 after the merger of the two old municipalities of Rødenes and Øymark....

 municipality in Østfold

Østfold

is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden , while Buskerud and Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. The seat of the county administration is Sarpsborg, and Fredrikstad is the largest city.Many manufacturing facilities are situated here. Moss and...

 near the Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 border on an isolated mountain outcropping between Rødenessjøen

Rødenessjøen

Rødenessjøen is a lake in the municipalities of Aurskog-Høland in Akershus county and Marker in Østfold county, Norway....

 and Hemnessjøen.

It was constructed in the 1680s and was abandoned after 62 years of service in 1745. The first mention of this Norwegian fortress

Norwegian Fortresses

Norwegian fortresses or fortifications have been constructed from some of the earliest recorded periods, down through the 20th century. The geography and topography of glacially carved, mountainous Norway constrain both the sea and the land routes which an aggresser must follow...

 is in a letter from Field Marshal Wedel Jarlsberg to the King in 1683. Major General Johan Caspar von Cicignon

Johan Caspar von Cicignon

Johan Caspar von Cicignon was a Luxembourg born soldier and military engineer who spent most of his career in the service of Denmark–Norway...

 developed the plans.

During the Great Northern War

Great Northern War

The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

 it was manned by up to 1,350 men.

On the night of March 9th, 1716, the pyres on the mountaintops announced Swedish King Charles XII and 1,000 men had crossed the border. Moving rapidly, he found the border poorly guarded and moved with cavalry to Høland

Aurskog-Høland

Aurskog-Høland is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bjørkelangen.- Name :...

 parsonage. Norwegian troops stationed in the district were assembled by the Basmo commander, Colonel Kruse, who attacked the Swedes in a bloody battle. Charles XII barely escaped capture, but the tide was soon turned against the outnumbered Norwegians, and Kruse, badly wounded, was captured. The Swedes went on to occupy Christiania

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

without resistance on March 21, 1716, but were ultimately repulsed.

Basmo was also in the path of invading Swedish troops during Charles XII’s second unsuccessful invasion in 1718.