The building of Akershus Castle and Fortress (Akershus festning) was commenced in 1299 under king Haakon V and was built in order to protect city from enemy attacks. The vicinity of the sea was of great importance because naval majority of Norwegian commerce in that period was by sea. The fortress was strategically important for the capital, and therefore, Norway as well. Whoever controlled Akershus fortress ruled Norway.

Somewhere in the early 17th century, under the reign of King Christian IV, the fortress was modernized and remodelled, and got the appearance of a renaissance castle.

The fortress was besieged every now and then in its history but never by a foreign enemy. However it surrendered without combat to Nazi Germany in 1940 when the Norwegian government evacuated the capital during the unprovoked German assault on Denmark and Norway.

During World War II, several people were executed here by the German occupiers, including members of the Norwegian sabotage group (Pelle group).

The fortress was liberated on 11 May 1945, when it was handed over to Terje Rollem on behalf of the Norwegian resistance movement. After the war, eight Norwegian traitors who had been tried for war crimes and sentenced to death were also executed at the fortress. Vidkun Quisling was among one of those.

During its history Akershus served as a prison, with a section known as The Slavery (Slaveriet) because the prisoners could be rented out for work in the city. The prison housed many rebels and criminals through Norwegian history. One of them was Gjest Baardsen, the most notorious criminals in Norway in the 19th century but also a non-fiction writer, songwriter and memoirist.

Today Akershus fortress is still a military area, but is open to the public daily until 21:00. After the restoration of the main building, it has been used for official events and dinners for dignitaries and foreign heads of state.

In addition to the castle, the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum and Norway’s Resistance Museum can be visited there. The Norwegian Ministry of Defence and Defence Staff Norway (armed forces headquarters) have a joint modern headquarters in the eastern part of Akershus Fortress.

Norwegian Royalty have been buried in the Royal Mausoleum in the castle. They include King Sigurd I, King Haakon V, Queen Eufemia, King Haakon VII, Queen Maud, King Olav V and Crown Princess Märtha.

AKERSHUS TVRĐAVA (Akershus Festning)                                                                                                                                          Gradnja dvorca i tvrđave Akershus započeta je 1299. za vrijeme vladavine kralja Haakona V s namjerom da zaštiti grad od neprijateljskih napada. Blizina mora bila je od velike važnosti jer se većina norveške trgovine u to vrijeme odvijala upravo tim putem. Tvrđava je bila od strateške važnosti za grad, ali i za cijelu državu. Tkogod je kontrolirao tvrđavu, kontrolirao je državom. Vrlo lako.

Negdje početkom 17. stoljeća, za vrijeme vladavine kralja Christiana IV, tvrđava je remodelirana i modernizirana, tako da je dobila izgled renesansnog dvorca.

Tvrđavu je svako malo netko zauzeo, ali to nikad nije bio strani neprijatelj. Sve do 1940. kad su Nijemci ušetali u grad i kad je vlada evakuirala grad nakon neprovociranog napada Njemačke na Dansku i Norvešku.

Za vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata, u tvrđavi je pogubljeno nekoliko ljudi, a neki od njih pripadali su norveškoj grupi sabotera tzv. Pelle-gruppen.

Tvrđava je oslobođena 11. svibnja 1945. kad ju je preuzeo Terje Rollem u ime norveškog pokreta otpora. Nakon rata u tvrđavi su pogubljena osmorica norveških izdajnika koja su optužena za ratne zločine i osuđena na smrt. Vidkun Quisling je bio jedan od njih.

Za vrijeme svoje aktivne uporabe, tvrđava je služila i kao zatvor, s dijelom za robove (Slaveriet) koji su se mogli unajmiti za rad u gradu. Zatvor je ugostio brojne pobunjenike i kriminalce iz norveške povijesti. Jedan od njih bio je i Gjest Baardsen, okorjeli kriminalac, pisac i pjesnik koji je živio u 19. stoljeću

Danas tvrđava i dalje pripada vojsci, no otvorena je za javnost dnevno do 21h. Nakon restauracije glavne zgrade, koristi se za brojne službene evente i večere za visoko rangirane domaće i strane službenike.

Uz tvrđavu možete posjetiti Muzej norveških oružanih snaga (Forsvarsmuseet) i Muzej pokreta otpora (Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum). U istočnom dijelu tvrđave smještene su prostorije norveškog Ministarstva obrane i Oružanih snaga Norveške.

U kraljevskom mauzoleju u dvorcu već se godinama pokapa norveško kraljevsko plemstvo, tako da možete naići na grobove kraljeva Sigurda I, Haakona V i VII, Olava V, kraljice Eufemiju, Maud te krunidbenu princezu Märthu.

Straža Njegovog Veličanstva Kralja (Hans Majestet Kongens Garde) odgovorna je za nadgled tvrđave, s patrolama tijekom dana i noći. Jedno od stacionarnih mjesta na ulazu je vrlo popularno fotografsko mjesto za turiste koji posjećuju tvrđavu.