Castles of Norway
Abstract
Norway has a rugged terrain and a cold climate. Its most famous castle, named Akershus, is located in Oslo, Norway and was built in medieval times. Its architecture was advanced for that time period, and was extremely important in the protection and defense of Norway. Akershus was also a fortress as well as a castle, which led to better protection. This was also in the time of the Vikings, the much feared defenders of Norway, who were known to be very brutal in war. It was rebuilt, updated, and repurposed several times throughout history, and is now a trademark in Norwegian history and culture, serving as a large tourist hub.
There have been many castles over the centuries that people have appointed the best because of their location, defense, architecture, or history; such as the Windsor Castle, Holyrood Palace, Buckingham Palace, and the Château de Versailles. However, another, lesser known castle seems to be right on par with these beauties: the Akershus castle in Oslo, Norway. Akershus beats the standards in all of these categories and more, which is most likely the reason it is plainly the most famous castle in Norway. It was created and protected by the Vikings in the medieval ages, and to this day stands tall in strong, just as it did at the turn of the fourteenth century.
Location
Norway has a very rugged, mountainous terrain, containing some of the highest points in Europe north of the Alpine-Carpathian mountain range with only one-fifth of its total area less than one hundred-fifty meters above sea level (Norway - Topography, n.d.). The main river, the Glåma goes through the Southeast and is three hundred-eighty miles long. Much of Norway has been scraped by ice, and there are one thousand, seven-hundred glaciers totaling some three thousand, four-hundred square kilometers. There are many great harbors and almost numberless fjords, along with vast strings of islands stretching all along the coastal areas of Norway.
Norway’s climate is
Norway has a rugged terrain and a cold climate. Its most famous castle, named Akershus, is located in Oslo, Norway and was built in medieval times. Its architecture was advanced for that time period, and was extremely important in the protection and defense of Norway. Akershus was also a fortress as well as a castle, which led to better protection. This was also in the time of the Vikings, the much feared defenders of Norway, who were known to be very brutal in war. It was rebuilt, updated, and repurposed several times throughout history, and is now a trademark in Norwegian history and culture, serving as a large tourist hub.
There have been many castles over the centuries that people have appointed the best because of their location, defense, architecture, or history; such as the Windsor Castle, Holyrood Palace, Buckingham Palace, and the Château de Versailles. However, another, lesser known castle seems to be right on par with these beauties: the Akershus castle in Oslo, Norway. Akershus beats the standards in all of these categories and more, which is most likely the reason it is plainly the most famous castle in Norway. It was created and protected by the Vikings in the medieval ages, and to this day stands tall in strong, just as it did at the turn of the fourteenth century.
Location
Norway has a very rugged, mountainous terrain, containing some of the highest points in Europe north of the Alpine-Carpathian mountain range with only one-fifth of its total area less than one hundred-fifty meters above sea level (Norway - Topography, n.d.). The main river, the Glåma goes through the Southeast and is three hundred-eighty miles long. Much of Norway has been scraped by ice, and there are one thousand, seven-hundred glaciers totaling some three thousand, four-hundred square kilometers. There are many great harbors and almost numberless fjords, along with vast strings of islands stretching all along the coastal areas of Norway.
Norway’s climate is
References: Akershus castle [Web brochure]. (2008-2012). Retrieved from Innovation Norway website: http://www.visitnorway.com///?pid=74461 Akershus castle & fortress (Akershus Slott) [Brochure] Akershus Castle - Museums. (2008-2011). Akershus castle (Akershus festning) [Brochure]. Retrieved from Everycastle, inc. website: http://www.everycastle.com/-Castle.html The evolution of Norwegian architecture [Government article] Héricher, A.-M. (1998). Norwegian medieval castles: Building on the edge of Europe. In Château gaillard (pp. 69-70). Brepols. Why did Vikings attack monasteries? (2012). Retrieved from BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk////_were_the_vikings