We just left the oldest part of the fortress. The outer walls and bastions that surround the core of the fortress have thus been added from the middle of the 16th century onwards. So they were not present in 1566, when the Swedes managed to get into the Red Tower. Without it, the Red Tower formed part of the outer wall.

In front of us is the pond called Konsten, or Art. It is groundwater that seeps up from cracks in the rock and in the middle it is about 4 meters deep. Before 1570, it was likely a small natural lake was here which was later rebuilt into a pond. The water was necessary to be able to wash oneself and one’s clothes. But even the animals bathe and drank directly from the water, which means that water hygiene was poor.

During the last siege in 1678, attempts were made to poison the water by throwing in so-called “stink pots”, these small leather bags filled with feces that are thrown in with catapults over the walls. The purpose was to infect the Swedes inside the fortress with dysentery which was a common field disease with high fatality rate. Most soldiers during this time did not die from bullets and swords, but from diseases.

Old legends also speak of witch trials  that were carried out in the pond. Witch tests are performed to find out if a suspect is a witch. Tied by their hands and feet suspects were then thrown into the water. Sometimes a weight was also tied to the ropes. If the suspect floats to the surface, even though she is bound, it was seen as  a clear sign that she is getting help from the devil and that she is thus a witch. In that case, she will be executed. If the water surface remains still and she sinks to the bottom, it was proof that she was in fact,  innocent.