In front of you, you will find one of Scandinavia’s, through the ages,  most talked about fortresses. For many years Bohus or Bagahus, as it was once called, remained a widely renowned Renaissance-style castle, which, in time, became a fortress and eventually a dreaded city prison.

Here, kings have reigned, queens have been married and witches executed. To understand just how strategic the geographical location is, one should know that Göta Älv was previously an important trade route between the Swedish city of commerce Lödöse, and the small window that Sweden had out into the North Sea, where Gothenburg is now located.

Göta Älv was also the border between the kingdoms of Sweden and Norway before the fort was built in 1308, and up until the treaty of Roskilde in 1658, which makes the placement of Bohus, a controversial one. For most  of the the 17th century, the town of Ny-Kungälv was also located here on Fästningsholmen.

Norwegian Bohus functioned more or less as a lock between the arch-enemies Sweden and Norway but even ended up under Danish rule at certain times.  Through constant wars, Bohus managed to withstand no less than 14 sieges. We therefore would like to warn you that this journey back in time will include a lot of war, misery, and horrific casualties, but also marriage, development and eventually peace.

Welcome to Bohus Fästning! (Fort Bohus)