Varberg Fortress

About this place

Varberg Fortress is an old fortification on the seafront in the town of Varberg, Halland County, western Sweden, about 69 km south of Gothenburg in a straight line. Today it houses a museum. Count Jacob Nielsen built the fortress between 1287 and 1300, and in the 14th century it was enlarged to include a castle, home at times to rulers from several Scandinavian royal houses. It was strengthened again in the late 16th and early 17th centuries and became Swedish in 1645. From the late 17th century until 1931 it served as a prison. The fortress sits on a rocky headland over the sea, ringed by massive stone walls and a moat, with cobbled courtyards inside, old buildings under red tile roofs, and arched gateways. From the walls the view takes in the sea, the harbour and the town. Visitors walk the ramparts and courtyards and visit the Halland Museum of Cultural History inside. Its best-known exhibit is the Bocksten Man, a medieval bog body found with the only complete set of 14th-century clothing known to have been worn by a single person. The fortress is close to the town centre and the beach.