Degerberget Fort

Degerberget Fort
Degerbergsfortet
Part of Boden Fortress
Boden, Norrbotten, Sweden
Boden shown within Norrbotten County
Type	Fort
Coordinates	65°51′35″N 21°38′59″E / 65.8598°N 21.6497°E / 65.8598; 21.6497Coordinates: 65°51′35″N 21°38′59″E / 65.8598°N 21.6497°E / 65.8598; 21.6497
Built	1901–1908
Built by	Government of Sweden
Construction materials	Concrete, stone, steel
In use	1908–1992
Current owner	Government of Sweden
Open to the public	No
Controlled by	Sweden
Garrison	Around 400 men[1]
Battles/wars	None

Degerberget Fort (Swedish: Degerbergsfästningen) is a modern fort, part of Boden Fortress, outside the city of Boden, Norrbotten, in northern Sweden. The fort was finished in 1908 but improvements were also continuously made during, and between, both World Wars. Besides its military role, the fort also served as storage for part of the Swedish gold reserve for over 40 years. Degerberget Fort was decommissioned in 1992.

Background

Further information: Boden Fortress#Background and Boden Fortress#Reason and decision

Boden Fortress was built to act as the operational base for all troops attached for the defence of Norrbotten, and serve as a supply fortress for troops stationed between it and the front line, as well as a blocking fortress in case of a Russian surprise attack.^[2]

Construction

Further information: Boden Fortress#Construction

Degerberget Fort was planned and constructed on Degerberget Mountain, north of Boden and west of the lake Buddbyträsket, between 1900 and 1908. It was the only fort in the northern fort group as defined in the 1914 defensive plans for Boden Fortress.^[3]

Armament

Map of the location of the individual fortifications—with Degerberget Fort in the northwest—and batteries, railroad lines, and the size of Boden in 1901 (black) and 1940 (dark grey). (Larger version)

The main artillery consisted of four 12 cm Kanon m/99, backed up by another four 8.4 cm Kanon m/94-04 which were replaced by 8.4 cm Kanon m/47 in the early 1950s.^[4] Surrounded by a caponier ditch on all sides, the fort area also features one observation post, two searchlight sites and two larger bunkers.^[5]

History

Part of the Swedish gold reserve was kept here from 1941 to 1982.^[5] Degerberget Fort was decommissioned in 1992 together with Gammelängsberget Fort.^[6]

Citations

1. ^ Kartaschew 2000, pp. 4–6.
2. ^ Bergmark 1980, p. 527.
3. ^ Nyström 1990, p. 128.
4. ^ Persson 2002, page "8 - 9 cm".
5. ^ ^{a b} Fästningsguiden n.d., page "Om Bodens fästning".
6. ^ Dig Maps 2001.

References

All sources in (Swedish) unless otherwise noted.

Books

• Bergmark, Ragnar (ed.) (1980). Bodens kommun: från forntid till nutid. Boden: Bodens kommun. 
• Forslund, Björn (1988). Fästningsstad i liv och utveckling. Boden: Kungl. Bodens artilleriregemente. 
• Högberg, Leif; Ohlsson, Jan Erik (2006). Militär utflykt!: en vägvisare till militärhistoriska sevärdheter i Sverige. Skurup: Fort & Bunker. ISBN 91-973900-8-9. 
• Nyström, Bror Oscar (ed.); Skeppstedt, Sven (ed.) (1990). Boden: fästningen, garnisonen, samhället. Västervik: Ekblad. 
• Strömholm, Fredrik (1933). Boden, fästningen och staden: några minnesblad. Boden. 
• Törnquist, Leif (2007). Svenska borgar och fästningar: en militärhistorisk reseguide. Stockholm: Medströms. ISBN 978-91-7329-008-1. 

Journals

• Björhammar, Anders (1998). "Sista skottet från fästningen: nu ska Bodens hemligheter bli turistmål". Populär historia (5): 29–32. http://www.popularhistoria.se/artiklar/sista-skottet-fran-fastningen/. 
• Ericson Wolke, Lars; Eriksson, Sten Olof; Törnquist, Leif & others (2007). "Militära hemligheter: svenska fort och fästningar". Populär historia (7): 36–46. 
• Kartaschew, Kenneth von (2000). "Bodens fästning" (PDF). Tidskriften Kulturvärden (3): 10–15. http://www.sfv.se/cms/showdocument/documents/sfv/kulturvarden/2000_03/bodens_fastning.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-18. ^{[ref 1]}
• Lidström, Hans (2005). "Rödbergsfortet - Ett monument". Ledaren - Tidskrift för Västerbottens Befälsutbildningsförbund (1): 4. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930012014/http://www.forsvarsutbildarna.se/index.php?dispatchTo=Renderer&action=download&file=11866. Retrieved 2006-12-27. 
• Prage, Göran (2005). "'Bombsäkra' lokaler att hyra" (PDF). Tidskriften Kulturvärden (4): 22–23. http://www.sfv.se/cms/showdocument/documents/sfv/kulturvarden/2005_04/_bombsakra_lokaler_att_hyra.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-18. 
• Svensson, Göran (2000). "Vår första moderna befästning" (PDF). Tidskriften Kulturvärden (1): 14–19. http://www.sfv.se/cms/showdocument/documents/sfv/kulturvarden/2000_01/var_forsta_moderna_befastning.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-18. 
• "Bodens fästning öppnas" (PDF) (Press release). Statens fastighetsverk. 2000-06-20. http://www.sfv.se/cms/showdocument/documents/sfv/pressmeddelanden/2000/Bodens_fa_63.pdf. Retrieved 2011-11-18. 

News

• Anundby, Nils (2006-07-18). "Många myter om fortet". Norrländska Socialdemokraten. http://www.nsd.se/nyheter/artikel.aspx?ArticleID=3496433. Retrieved 2011-11-18. 
• Englund, Peter (2005-08-18). "Om terroristskräcken i vårt land". Dagens Nyheter. http://www.peterenglund.com/textarkiv/binladinboden.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-02. 
• Hagerfors, Anna-Maria (2002-07-28). "Topphemlig fästning blev turistmål". Dagens Nyheter. http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/topphemlig-fastning-blev-turistmal. Retrieved 2011-11-18. 
• PM (2002-08-25). "Turistmålet som skulle stoppa ryssen". Helsingborgs Dagblad. p. 22. 
• Råde, Hampus (2004-05-11). "Sveriges hemliga rum". Värnpliktsnytt. p. 17. 

Online

• Bothnian Arc (n.d.). "Kultur & Nöje - Boden". Archived from the original on 2004-11-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20041103033938/http://www.bothnianarc.com/svensk/kultur/boden.html. Retrieved 2006-09-04. 
• Dig Maps AB (2001). "Bodens fästnings karta". Archived from the original on 2006-06-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20060614064008/http://www.bodenkartan.com/bodfastningkarta.htm. Retrieved 2006-09-04. ^{[ref 2]}
• Fästningsguiden i Norr AB (n.d.). "Bodens fästning & Rödbergsfortet". http://www.rodbergsfortet.com/. Retrieved 2011-11-18. 
• Persson, Mats (2002). "Breech-loaded Guns and Cannon used by the Swedish Armed Forces". Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20070518192859/http://www.tfd.chalmers.se/~m95perm/vapen/kanon/lista.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04.  (English)
• Spangsberg, Svend (n.d.). "Bodens fästning - Nordens største bjergforter". Archived from the original on 2008-02-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20080221014116/http://www.spangsberg.esenet.dk/borgsverige.html. Retrieved 2006-09-04.  (Danish)
• Statens fastighetsverk (n.d.). "Bodens fästning". http://www.sfv.se/cms/sfv/vara_fastigheter/sverige/bd_norrbottens_lan/Bodens_fastning.html. Retrieved 2011-11-18. 
• Statistiska centralbyrån (2011). "Price level in Sweden 1830–2010". http://www.scb.se/Pages/TableAndChart____33838.aspx. Retrieved 2011-11-18.  (English)

Other

• Boden Fortress exhibition at Försvarsmuseum Boden. Visited on 2006-07-28.
• Rödberget Fort guided tour by Fästningsguiden i Norr AB. Visited on 2006-07-28.

Reference notes

1. ^ A slightly different version of the article which contains some additional information but lacks pictures, is available at sfv.se. Citations for pp. 1–7 refers to this alternative version.
2. ^ The main page image is missing, but klicking on it bring up parts of the map.

External links

• Swedish National Property Board - Boden Fortress (English)
• Bodens fästning & Rödbergsfortet (Swedish)