Denmark · 20th century
Flakfortet, meaning sand-shoal fortress, is a sea fort located on the artificially built island of Saltholmrev, in the Øresund between Copenhagen and Saltholm. The island and fort are simply known as Flakfortet; the name of the island; Saltholmrev, meaning the reef near Saltholm, is seldom used.
Flakfortet was the last of three artificial islands that the Danes created to defend the entrance to Copenhagen's harbor. (The other two are Trekroner Fort (the oldest) and Middelgrundsfortet.) Flakfortet's guns covered the Hollænderdybet channel between Middelgrundsfortet and Saltholm, and the Flinterenden channel between Sweden and Saltholm. Eventually Flakfortet became more of a site for anti-aircraft weapons than for coastal artillery. Its military functions ended in 1968.
Flakfortet is currently used for recreational purposes such as teambuilding and conferences, and the site has a restaurant and yacht moorings. During the summer, a ferry company, Spar Shipping, has five scheduled trips per day to the island, with the trip from Nyhavn taking about 40 minutes each way. There is an overnight hostel on the island too.
The name does not refer to anti-aircraft artillery (German Flak), but the Danish language word flak, sand shoal.
Text adapted from “Flakfortet” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Flakfortet ranks #2,389 of 9,035 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #33 of the 59 mapped in Denmark. Founded 1910, one of 161 atlas entries founded in the 20th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,391 times in the last 60 days, more than 73% of the atlas. 20 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Copenhagen, 11 km away. See how Denmark compares in the castle statistics.
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