Photo: Ssvea·CC BY-SA 4.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Fredrikstad / Kjøkøya
Island south of Kråkerøy, connected by bridge. Kjøkøy fort, a German coastal battery from 1941 that closed in 1993, is now a recreation area open to the public; two 10.5 cm guns remain in bunkers. The former barracks house Pynten skole.
Kjøkøya lies south of Kråkerøy, at the eastern approach to the Glomma and Fredrikstad. From the water you see the old gun emplacements and bunkers up in the terrain, Kjøkøy fort. On the opposite side of the entrance, to the west, stood Torgauten fort, which guarded the other channel.
car via bridge (Kråkerøy).
The island is connected by road, so you need neither a boat nor a timetable.
The Germans built Kjøkøy fort in April and May 1941 to protect the eastern approach to Fredrikstad. The fort got four 10 cm K 17/04 guns with a range of around 14,000 metres. Two 88 mm anti-aircraft guns were added in April 1943.
After the war the Norwegian armed forces took the site over and modernised it with warning radar. The fort was scheduled for closure in 1993 and opened as a recreation area for the public from 1998. Fredrikstad municipality bought the barracks area in 2008.
Kjøkøy fort is a recreation area, open to the public. Two 10.5 cm SKC/32 guns remain, each in its own bunker, together with other military structures from the site. The old barracks today house Pynten skole. The Norwegian Coastal Administration (Kystverket) also runs a modern radar station on the island. Kjøkøya is connected to Kråkerøy by bridge.
Kjøkøya is reached by car via the bridge from Kråkerøy. The fort area is laid out for visitors with paths, viewpoints and the preserved gun emplacements. From the sea you can moor at quays along the island. No general conservation regulation is known for the island beyond the fort site being managed as a recreation area.
The two guns left in the bunkers are 10.5 cm SKC/32, mounted while the Norwegian armed forces held the site after the war, and not the original German pieces.
Kjøkøy and Torgauten guarded one approach to Fredrikstad each: Kjøkøy the eastern, Torgauten the western. Between them they closed the channel to the city.
A German coastal battery from 1941 has ended up as both a primary school and a place to walk: the quarters where the soldiers lived now house Pynten skole.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Kjøkøya on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Kjøkøya på norsk.