Photo: trolvag·CC BY-SA 3.0· Wikimedia Commons
Islands / Horten / Vealøs
A military island north of Horten with the protected Norske Løve fort, built 1852–1860. Norwegian special forces use it today for maritime training; public tours were stopped in 2012.
The island lies north of Karljohansvern, at the approach to Horten. If you see an elliptical brick fort with barracks, that is Norske Løve, the fortress from the 1850s that never got to do its job. The island is military ground in active use, so we keep our distance and tell this one from the water.
the Norske Løve fort is a protected monument (2006). The boundaries and the rules are in Naturbase, and they are worth checking before you land anywhere outside the marked areas.
Military area, entry forbidden.
No scheduled boat comes here. You will have to find the nearest public quay yourself, and the rest is your own boat or a kayak. Check the wind and wave forecast before you set out; the open stretches in the outer fjord turn unpleasant in a fresh breeze.
The Norske Løve fort was begun in 1852 and stood finished in 1860, designed and built by Theodor Christian Broch (1796–1863). It was an elliptical brick fort with barracks, originally equipped with 22 muzzle-loading guns of four tonnes each, 17 men to a gun, plus seven guns on the roof battery. The fort was there to defend the naval base at Karljohansvern.
The fortress lost its purpose quickly. Weapons technology ran away from it: rifled guns and explosive shells were more than the masonry could take, and the fort was outdated almost before it was finished. In 1939 an assembly hall for seaplanes and a torpedo-bomber hangar were built on the island. The Wehrmacht used the site during the occupation and made the island land-connected with infill. Two hangars for motor torpedo boats followed after the war.
The fort was listed as a protected monument on 31 May 2006. Norwegian special forces (Forsvarets spesialkommando) use the island for diving training, boat exercises and other maritime work. Vealøs is land-connected by a 720-metre timber bridge over the shallow strait.
Military area, entry forbidden. Public tours of the fort were stopped in 2012 when the counter-terrorism alert was raised, and they have not resumed. Landing is not permitted. Protection: the Norske Løve fort was listed on 31 May 2006. Tell the island from the seaward side, without going ashore.
The fort was technically obsolete before it opened. By the time it stood finished in 1860, rifled guns and explosive shells had already made brick forts like this one powerless.
Each of the 22 guns weighed four tonnes and took 17 men to work.
The fort was planned by the same man from start to finish. Theodor Broch followed it through the whole building period from 1852 to 1860.
Oslo Sea Experience passes Vealøs on its private fjord trips from Tjuvholmen.
The Norwegian version notes which facts were taken from each source: Vealøs på norsk.