Akershus Fortress Cannonball - Oslo, Norway
N 59° 54.605 E 010° 44.748
32V E 597633 N 6642684
This marker is about the cannonball embedded in the old Posthallen building in downtown Oslo, Norway. The cannonball was actually transferred from the original building that it was shot into at this site to the current 100-year-old building.
Waymark Code: WMPDAT
Location: Oslo, Norway
Date Posted: 08/12/2015
Views: 6
The marker is in Norwegian and reads :
"I veggen ovenfor dette skiltet er innmurt en kanonkule som er skutt fra akershus festning under Carl XII's beleiring av byen i 1716. Overført fra tidligere bygning på tomten."
[ENGLISH TRANSLATION]
In the wall above this sign is mortared a cannonball that was shot from Akershus Fortress under Carl XII's siege of the city in 1716. Transferred from former building on the site.
ABOUT THE SIEGE:
"Charles XII, also Carl (Swedish: Karl XII; 17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718), Latinized to Carolus Rex, was the King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718.
Charles invaded Norway in 1716 with a combined force of 7,000 men. He occupied the capital of Christiania, (modern Oslo), and laid siege to the Akershus fortress there. Due to a lack of heavy siege cannons he was unable to dislodge the Norwegian forces inside. After suffering significant losses of men and material, Charles was forced to retreat from the capital on 29 April. In mid-May following, Charles invaded again, this time striking the border town of Fredrikshald, now Halden, in an attempt to capture the fortress of Fredriksten. The attacking Swedes came under heavy cannon fire from the fortress and were forced to withdraw when the Norwegians set the town of Fredrikshald on fire. Swedish casualties in Fredrikshald were estimated to be 500 men. While the siege at Fredrikshald was underway, the Swedish supply fleet was attacked and defeated by Tordenskjold in the Battle of Dynekilen.
In 1718 Charles once more invaded Norway. With a main force of 40,000 men, he again laid siege to the fortress of Fredriksten overlooking the town of Fredrikshald. While inspecting trenches close to the perimeter of the fortress on 11 December (30 November Old Style), 1718, Charles was struck in the head by a projectile and killed. The shot struck the left side of his skull and exited from the right. The invasion was abandoned, and Charles' body was returned to Sweden. A second force, under Carl Gustaf Armfeldt, marched against Trondheim with 10,000 men but was forced to retreat. In the march that ensued, many of the 5,800 remaining men perished in a severe winter storm. Through a series of wars fought in the century following the king's death, Russia gained all of Finland from Sweden."
--Wikipedia (
visit link)