Friday, July 14, 2017

Visiting the place where King Karl XII ended his life

The idea of going to Halden and Fredriksten has never left me since I started to make a careful study of  the Great Northern war and the Battle of Poltava. This year with the help of my Swedish and Norwegian friends this dream has come true. I got two unique Norwegian guides: Magne Rannestad and Stig Østling. These two men ave turned my trip into something unforgettable.The fortress of Fredriksten  was constructed  in the 17th century when the fortress at was ceded to Sweden in accordance with the Treaty of Roskilde (1658). The fortress was named after King Fredrik III of Denmark and Norway. There were six attempts taken by Sweden from 1658 till 1814 to take the fortress but the fortress withstanded bravely all sieges. On the evening of 30 November 1718, a bullet killed Karl XII while he inspected the siedge work near the fortress. Nowaday the fortress of Fredriksten is well cared for and attracts tourists from many countries. Magne Rannestad as a head of the Society of the friends of the foretress works hard to maintain this historical monument in a good shape. I was impressed with a very interesting museum of the fortress of Fredriksten showing its history since 17th century till the present day. The tourism infrastructure created since the fortress has stopped to be a military object came as a surprise to me. 


Oleg Bezverkhnii and Magne Rannestad near the monument on the place where Karl XII was killed in 1718.
Stig Østling organized for me a guided tour around downtown of Halden that was known as Fredrikshald between 1665 and 1928 and  gave me an opportunity to see monuments dedicated to Norwegian campaign of the King Karl XII of 1716 and 1718. Some of these monuments were very difficult to be found in the wild depth of Sweden and Norway.


Stig Østling near the monument erected in 1922 at the end of Galärvägen, where Swedish army moved twelve galleys over land from Skagerrak at Strömstad to Idefjorden. The aim of this operation was to reinforce the Swedish army prior to an attack to the fortress of Fredriksten in 1718.
Stig Østling has been to Poltava a few times and he can speak Russian a bit. In 2016 he visited a place where the King Karl XII crossed Dniper River in 1709 after the Battle of Poltava.
Stig Østling with the flag of Halden inside the reconstructed redoubt on the Poltava Battle field.
From time to time the fortress of Fredriksten  hosts the summer theater where the audience can enjoy classic and rock music. 
Summer theatre in the fortress of Fredriksten.


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