Middelgrundsfortet

Middelgrundsfortet 2016
Inside Middelgrundsfortet

Middelgrundsfortet or Fort Middelgrund is a sea fort located on an artificial island in the Øresund between Copenhagen and Malmö. The fortress is constructed at a point where the seabed is 7 meters below the water surface, and at the northern meeting point of the straits Kongedybet and Hollænderdybet.

History

Christian IX's government constructed the fort between 1890–94 to serve as a part of Copenhagen's coastal fortifications, partly using material excavated from Frihavnen. It is one of three artificial islands that were created to defend the entrance to Copenhagen's harbor. (The other two are Flakfortet and Trekroner Fort.)

Middelgrundsfortet was the largest sea fortress in the world, and is still the largest man-made island without abutment, with an area, including wave breakers, of approximately 70 000 m²; the buildings total approximately 15 000 m². A HAWK battery was placed on the island in the 1950s. The fortress remained an active military installation until 1984; in 2002 it was sold to a private investor.

The Danish scout organisation Det Danske Spejderkorps bought the island in February 2015 for 20 million Danish kroner (£1,94M) with money donated by Nordea-Fonden and A. P. Møller Fonden. Det Danske Spejderkorps intends to develop the island for all Danish youth to use, not just the scouts.

Facilities

The fort has been used as a hotel, with 200 rooms linked by 2 miles of corridors.[1] Ferries connect Middelgrundsfortet with Langelinie, Copenhagen.

Cultural references

A view of Middelgrundsfortet from the northwest is seen at 1:07:16 25 in the 1975 Olsen-banden film The Olsen Gang on the Track.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "World's most covetable castles for sale". Daily Telegraph.
  2. ↑ "Film 7 Olsen banden på sporet / Die Olsenbande stellt die Weichen". olsenbande-homepage.de (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2017.

Coordinates: 55°43′14″N 12°39′57″E / 55.72056°N 12.66583°E / 55.72056; 12.66583


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