Karlsborg Fortress

Karlsborg Fortress (Swedish: Karlsborgs fästning) is situated on the Vanäs peninsula in Karlsborg by lake Vättern, the province of Västergötland, Sweden. Construction on the fortress began 1819 to realize the so-called central defense idea adopted by the Swedish military after the Finnish and Napoleonic Wars. The site was chosen by Baltzar von Platen in connection with the construction of the Göta Canal.

The intent of the central defense idea was that the King, the Council, the Riksdag and central command functions would, in the event of an attack against the kingdom, pull back and ensconce themselves in this fortress in the middle of the country. Even the gold reserves of the central bank of Sweden were to be safeguarded in the fortress in times of trouble. The fortress is one of northern Europe's largest buildings and consists primarily of limestone from Omberg.

Text adapted from “Karlsborg Fortress” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Karlsborg Fortress ranks #1,723 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #39 of the 205 mapped in Sweden. Founded 1830, it is older than 11% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 562 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,708 times in the last 60 days, more than 83% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Linköping, 65 km away. See how Sweden compares in the castle statistics.

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