Gun emplacements and tunnels
Left in place and open to walk among.
Sten Dueland — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Koltinn — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wolfmann — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sten Dueland — CC BY-SA 2.0
An abandoned coastal fort on the island of Fjøløy north of Stavanger, built by the German occupation in the Second World War as part of the Atlantic Wall. The Atlantic Wall was a chain of fortifications the Germans built along the European coast from Norway to Spain to repel an invasion from the sea. Norway received an enormous share of it because Hitler was convinced the invasion would come there, so hundreds of coastal batteries were built, largely with forced labour. After the war the Norwegian army used the fort and then left it, and the gun emplacements, concrete shelters and tunnels remain in place, open to walk among. What makes the visit affecting is the contrast: rusting military concrete in the middle of a quiet island of pasture, a beach and a white lighthouse of 1849 on its point. The island is joined to the mainland by bridges and undersea tunnels, so it is visited by car.
Left in place and open to walk among.
White on the island's point, a century older than the fort.
Military concrete amid pasture and a quiet beach.
The island of Fjøløy, north of Stavanger
Because Norway was strategic for two reasons: its ports open onto the Atlantic and served the submarine war, and Swedish iron ore was shipped through Narvik. Add to that Hitler's personal conviction that the Allies would invade from the north, a conviction proved wrong in Normandy. The result was that about three hundred thousand German troops remained in Norway to the end of the war — an enormous force isolated from the decisive fronts.
The archipelago north of Stavanger, reached by an undersea tunnel. Its most important site is Utstein Abbey of the thirteenth century — the most complete surviving medieval monastery in Norway, on the island of Mosterøy. Beyond that there are quiet sand beaches, cycle routes and small villages. The islands suit a full day by car or bicycle from Stavanger.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.