Fjell fortress
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Fjell fortress (Norwegian: Fjell festning) is located on the island of Sotra in the municipality of Fjell, Hordaland county, Norway.
[edit] History
The fortress was built by the German occupation forces during World War II. The construction works were commenced late summer 1942, and completed so far that they could fire the main gun for the first time as early as in June–July of 1943. The fort was a significant link in the coastal defence of Norway. Its main commission was to intercept the seaward approach to Bergen, and was esteemed as the strongest fortress i Northern Europe.
The main gun was also to a certain extent employed in the interception of foreign aicraft raids against Bergen.
The fortress has areas over and under the ground, with a network of tunnels two miles long on the surface and in the mountains. The fortress area is today the property of Forsvaret (National Defence), while Sotra og Øygarden Forsvarsforening (Sotra and Øygarden Society of Defence) are responsible for conducting the preservation and maintenance.
After sending a petition, the municipal authorities was offered by Forsvaret, represented by Skifte Eiendom (Forsvaret's property management), to take possession of the fortress area without compensation. The offer was rejected by the municipal authories. The future fate of Fjell Fortress thus remains uncertain at the present (2006).
[edit] The main gun
To mount the main gun at the fortress, it was necessary to dig 14 m vertically into the mountain. The labour was mainly done by prisoners from the eastern Europe, but also Norwegian prisoners participated. It is said that 25 prisoners died during the construction works, either as a result of frostbite, exhaustion or execution.
The gun was taken from the battleship Gneisenau. It had three barrels, 28.3 centimetres each, and a range of 37 kilometres, from Fedje in the north to Stolmen in the south. The total weight of the gun was 1,000 metric tons.
