Audunborg

Infobox Military Structure
name=Audunborg
location=Jølster, Norway


caption=Audun Hugleiksson's seal on the memorial erected on the castel site.
built=1276-1286
materials=Stone
used=Ca.1276-?
type=Medieval castle
controlledby=Norway
garrison=Baron Audun's hird
commanders=Audun Hugleiksson

Audunborg or Hegrenes-borga was a castle and fortification built by Audun Hugleiksson on his inherited estate on Ålhus in Jølster in Norway. Today only the ruins remain of the castle that stood at the tip of Hegreneset by Jølstravatnet in Sunnfjord. It was first excavated in 1934 and is probably modeled after Håkonshallen in Bergen which was twice as long and twice as wide. The castle was built in stone from 1276 to 1286 probably by English craftsmen from Bergen. The rectangular building, 22 meters by 13 meters, had three stories, store room in the ground floor, living quarters in the first floor and a feast hall in the top floor. It had large windows and arches. The building itself had water on three sides and was thus easy to defend. It is also thought that a moat or castle wall was part of the fortifications. Recent research claims that Audun himself spent little time in his castle as his activities kept him either in Bergen, in the east of the country or abroad. As a baron, Audun Hugleiksson was allowed to keep a hird (armed retinue) a right otherwise reserved for the king. This hird would defend him on his travels and when he was at home in Audunborg.

In Norway only the King and the Church had the funds to build in stone and Audunborg along with Isegran by Glomma, built by Alv Erlingsson, are the only two know examples of private stone castles in Norway.

Stories about Audun remain in local folklore and one story includes him burying all his money and sinking a silver table into lake Jølster before departing for his last trip to Bergen. A memorial to Audun, carved by Jørgen P. Solheimsnes from Jølster was erected on the site of the castle in 1960. Its motive is the baron's seal. The is an biannual outdoor play performed on Ålhus called Hugleikssonspelet which is written by Edvard Hoem, based on a book by Anne Cecilie Kapstad which commemorates Audun Hugleiksson.

Litterature

* Yngve Nedrebø mfl. "Audun Hugleiksson – frå kongens råd til galgen". Selja forlag, 2002
* Knut Helle. «Audun Hugleiksson». I: "Norsk biografisk leksikon", bd 1. 2. utg. 1999 ("Med fyldig litteraturliste)

External links

* [http://www.phys.ntnu.no/instdef/personale/kristian.fossheim/artikler/hugleiksson.htm Baron Audun Hugleiksson frå Jølster – eit 700-års minne]
* [http://da2.uib.no/audun/ Digitalarkivet: Audun Hugleiksson]
* [http://www.Hugleikson.no/ Teaterstykket] – Audun Hugleiksson – Kongens Mann (the play)
* [http://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folkevisa_om_Audun_Hugleikson Balad of Audun Hugleiksson preserved on the Faeroe Islands] (Nynorsk Wikipedia)