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Altenhus Fortress
| Altenhus Fortress | |
|---|---|
Altenhus festning | |
| Årøya, Finnmark, Norway | |
| Coordinates | 63°00′25″N 7°15′10″E / 63.0069°N 7.2529°E |
| Type | Two-storey cross-shaped blockhouse with ramparts and a palisade |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Denmark-Norway |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1610–11 |
| In use | 1611–13 (as a fortress) 1613–c. early 1690s (as a prison) |
| Materials | Timber and earthworks |
| Fate | Blockhouse dismantled, remains of earth ramparts still visible |
| Events | Kalmar War (1611–13) |
| Garrison information | |
| Past commanders | Thomas Køningham |
| Garrison | Commander and unknown number of soldiers, an armed galley, two horses |
Altenhus Fortress (Norwegian: Altenhus festning; also Kongshus Fortress) was a fortification built on the island of Årøya in Finnmark county in Norway in 1610. The area is part of the present-day Alta Municipality.
Altenhus Fortress was intended to prevent Swedish incursions into the area, and secure the rich salmon fisheries for the Dano-Norwegian state. The structure only remained in military use for three years, before being abandoned and used as a prison until 1692, when the timber of the fortress' blockhouse was used in the construction of a church.
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