Nya Alvsborg Fortress

Building started in the 1650s on Kyrkogardsholmen, an island in the river mouth, to cover the approach to Gothenburg, and the fortress was besieged by Danish forces several times without falling - most seriously in 1719, when it was bombarded for weeks. As its military role faded it was used more and more as a prison, until 1866, and then as a store, and it now opens for the summer with boats running from the city centre. The tour takes in the church, the powder magazine, the casemates and the prison cells. The trip out down the river past the shipyard cranes is half the point.

Highlights

• A seventeenth-century island fortress - besieged but never taken.
• Casemates, magazine and church - on the guided tour.
• The prison cells - in use until 1866.
• The river trip out - past the harbour and cranes.

When to go

June to August, when the boats run. Three hours including the crossing.

Before you go

The season is short and boats are weather dependent. Access is only by that boat, on a fixed schedule. The tour is mostly in Swedish. There is little shelter on the island.

Nearby

Gothenburg harbour is upriver; Alvsborg bridge crosses above it.

Key facts