Hammershus

Hammershus stands on a granite knoll above the sea at the northwest corner of Bornholm, and it covers a larger area than any other medieval fortress ruin in northern Europe. Building began in the thirteenth century and continued in stages for some four hundred years, after which it was abandoned and quarried by local people for stone until protection came in 1822. What remains is a sprawl of curtain walls, gate towers, cellars and a tall mantle tower on bare rock, with the Baltic on three sides. The visitor centre, cut into the slope opposite, frames the ruin through a long window and explains the phases.

History

Hammershus was the largest medieval fortification in Scandinavia, built in the 13th century 74 metres above the sea, with a castle residence, the great "mantel" tower and a perimeter wall 750 metres long. In the medieval struggles between the Danish kings and the archbishops it served as a refuge for archbishops, among them Jens Grand, and the king's forces took it several times, in 1259, 1265, 1319 and 1325. In 1521 Christian II took it and imprisoned Bishop Jens Andersen Beldenak of Funen here, and Lübeck's forces captured it the same year; in June 1645 Swedish forces under Carl Gustaf Wrangel took it, and after a Swedish occupation in 1658 a rebellion on the island ended Swedish rule and the islanders returned Bornholm to the Danish king. Corfitz Ulfeldt and his wife Leonora Christina were imprisoned here in 1660-1661, and the German theologian and alchemist Johann Conrad Dippel from 1719 to 1724. Hammershus was abandoned as a stronghold in 1743 and partly demolished, its remains were protected in 1822, and they have been maintained since major excavation and restoration in the late 1800s (Wikipedia, Hammershus).

What to look for

• The mantle tower - the tall keep block at the heart of the ruin.
• The curtain walls and gates - the long circuit of walls running over the granite.
• The visitor centre - the concrete building set into the slope facing the ruin.
• The coast below - the cliffs and the Baltic on three sides of the headland.

When to go

May to September for reliable weather and open facilities; the ruin itself is open ground all year and free to walk. Mornings are quiet and midday brings the coach tours off the ferry. Bornholm in high summer is busy across the whole island, so book the crossing and a bed well ahead.

Things to know

The site is large, uneven and mostly unroofed, with rough steps and slick rock after rain, and it is a real climb up from the lower car park. Labelling out on the walls themselves is thin. On a wet, windy day it is genuinely unpleasant. Getting to Bornholm at all takes a ferry or a flight and some planning.

Nearby

The Hammeren cliffs and Allinge lie just north; the round churches are inland.

Key facts