Sverresborg
Encyclopedia
- For the Sverresborg situated in Bergen, see Sverresborg (Bergen)Sverresborg (Bergen)Sverresborg is a fortress and former castle situated in the Norwegian city of Bergen.-History:It was built by king Sverre Sigurdsson in the mid 1180's, 250 meters northeast of Bergenhus fortress. King Sverre Sigurdsson also had a Sverresborg built in Trondheim...
.
Sverresborg (Norwegian:Sverresborg i Trondheim) or Sverre Sigurdsson's castle (also named Zion
Zion
Zion is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE...
after King David’s castle in Jerusalem) was a fortification built in the medieval city of Nidaros
Nidaros
Nidaros or Niðarós was during the Middle Ages, the old name of Trondheim, Norway . Until the Reformation, Nidaros remained the centre of the spiritual life of the country...
(later Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
) by Sverre Sigurdsson.
It is now known as an open air museum
Open air museum
An open-air museum is a distinct type of museum exhibiting its collections out-of-doors. The first open-air museums were established in Scandinavia towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the concept soon spread throughout Europe and North America. Open-air museums are variously known as...
for the region of Trøndelag, comprising the counties of Sør-Trøndelag
Sør-Trøndelag
- References :...
and Nord-Trøndelag
Nord-Trøndelag
is a county constituting the northern part of Trøndelag in Norway. As of 2010, the county had 131,555 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-least populated county. The largest municipalities are Stjørdal, Steinkjer—the county seat, Levanger, Namsos and Verdal, all with between 21,000 and...
.
Location
Defense of the city and the location of Sverresborg was based on three key topographical features:- The city lay on a peninsula bordered on the east and south by the River Nidelva and on the north by TrondheimsfjordTrondheimsfjordThe Trondheimsfjord , an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third longest fjord at long. It is located in the west central part of the country, and it stretches from Ørland in west to Steinkjer in north, passing the city of Trondheim on its way...
- The neck connecting the peninsula to the mainland was quite narrow and could be easily fortified
- A glacially-carved-rock hill just to the south dominates the city and provides an easily fortified site (location of Sverresborg)
The Heklungs War
In 1177, Sverre Sigurdsson, who was king of Norway from 1184-1202, led the rebel BirkebeinerBirkebeiner
The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla...
s to Trøndelag
Trøndelag
Trøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...
where in June, Sverre was hailed as king at Øretinget, the Thing (assembly)
Thing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
for Trøndelag. This was an important symbolic event, since traditionally new Norwegian kings were chosen there. After this, the Birkebeins moved south and wintered in Østerdalen
Østerdalen
Østerdalen is a valley and traditional district in Hedmark County, in Eastern Norway. It consisting of the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, Folldal,Tynset, Tolga and Os in the north, Elverum, Stor-Elvdal, Engerdal, Trysil and Åmot in the south.-Geography:...
. The next spring, the Birkebeins went back to Trøndelag, attacking the city of Nidaros
Nidaros
Nidaros or Niðarós was during the Middle Ages, the old name of Trondheim, Norway . Until the Reformation, Nidaros remained the centre of the spiritual life of the country...
(now Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
). Defeated, they fled south until they met and beat reigning King Magnus’ army in Ringerike
Ringerike
oskar er kjempe kulRingerike is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Ringerike...
. Encouraged, the Birkebeins moved north to Trøndelag again and remained in Nidaros during the winter of 1178.
In the spring of 1179, Magnus arrived with his army. The two armies met on June 19th in the Battle of Kalvskinnet (Slaget på Kalvskinnet) and the battle was a clear victory for Sverre, securing his grip on Trøndelag.
Magnus Erlingsson again attacked Trøndelag in spring 1180. Sverre held Trøndelag from Nidaros, which was then protected by a wooden palisades extending from the river to the fjord across the neck of the peninsula connecting the town to the mainland. In the Battle of Ilevollene (Slaget på Ilevollene), just outside of Nidaros, the Heklungs were again defeated.
The two forces met again in 1181 in the Battle of Nordnes (Slaget i Bergen 1181) which resulted in a minor victory for Sverre. But Magnus exploited Sverre’s absence from Trøndelag when in November he raided and burned the Birkebeiner fleet there. Sverre was forced to return or risk losing his one secure foothold. During summer 1182, Magnus made an attempt to take Nidaros by siege, but was repulsed with grave losses when the Birkebeins launched a surprise night attack.
Castle construction
In the winter of 1182/1183 Sverre initiated construction of Sverresborg (one of the earliest Norwegian fortressesNorwegian 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...
) to provide him a more secure and more easily defended base from which to work. The location selected was easily fortified, hard to approach, and could be defended by a small force. The stone for the fortification was available only 0.6 km away in the quarry which had been used for construction the cathedral at Nidaros. Since the Archbishop of Nidaros, who had aligned with King Magnus, was in exile in England from 1180 to 1183, the stonemasons were also available. Work proceeded quickly, and Sverre, along with a detachment of his men, moved out to the castle during Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
in 1183.
The sea Battle of Fimreite in 1184 proved to be final struggle between the Birkebeins and the Heklunger; King Magnus drowned. King Sverre, after a six years of struggle, became the uncontested king of Norway. But the peace was not to last for long.
The Bagler war
In 1188 the town of Nidaros, which had been vacated by King Sverre’s men, was attacked. His opposition stormed into the city and a bloodbath followed. The wooden fortress was torn down and the castle burnt and left in ruins. It is not known precisely when it was restored, but the Sverresaga indicates the castle had been restored by 1197. He died in Bergen March 8, 1202. Sverresborg is last mentioned in the time of King Sverre’s paternal grandson, King Haakon Haakonson in 1263, when he allowed the walls of Sverresborg to be broken down.
Sverresborg Trøndelag Folk Museum
In 1914 the area surrounding the ruins of King Sverre's medieval castle was appropriated for the site of the new open-air museum. The castle ruins are today the center of the Trøndelag Folk Museum. The museum had started in 1909, when a group of enthusiasts decided to gather buildings and objects characteristic of the area for purposes of preservation. The area around the fortress ruins was set aside for purposes of building a museum and the collection has grown steadily since then. Sverresborg Trøndelag Folk Museum is one of the largest cultural history museums in Norway. There are more than 60 buildings on the site now, covering a broad ethnological range.Other sources
- Gjerset, KnutKnut GjersetKnut Gjerset as a Norwegian-American author and historian. He was a professor at Luther College and served as curator of the Norwegian-American Historical Museum.-Selected works:*English Grammar...
(1915) History of the Norwegian People (The MacMillan Company) - Kavli, GuthormGuthorm KavliGuthorm Kavli was a Norwegian architect and writer.He was born in Trondheim, and took the dr.techn. degree at the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1967...
(1987) Norges festninger (Universitetsforlaget) ISBN 82-00-18430-7 - Koht, HalvdanHalvdan KohtHalvdan Koht was a Norwegian historian and politician representing the Labour Party.As a politician he served as the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1935 to 1941. He was never elected as a member of the Parliament of Norway, but was a member of Bærum municipal council in 1917–1919 and...
(1995) Sverresoga (Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget) ISBN 82-521-4474-8 - Krag,ClausClaus KragClaus Krag is a Norwegian educator, historian, and writer. He is a noted specialist in Old Norse philology and medieval Norwegian history. Krag earned his Cand.philol. in 1969...
(2005) Sverre – Norges største middelalderkonge (Oslo: H. Aschehoug & Co) ISBN 82-03-23201-9