FORTRESS AND MUSEUM (FÄSTNING & LANSMUSEET)

The main attraction of Varberg is of course the fortress that was originally established on this site at the end of the ^13th century, facing the North Sea, to protect the coast against the Danish invaders. At that time, it was nothing like the huge building we see today. It was then a wooden castle perched on the promontory. Over the centuries, and mainly between 1588 and 1618, the Danish king Christian IV had imposing walls built around the castle to protect it from the power of the new cannons of the time. The castle became Swedish again in 1645. Unprecedented in Scandinavia by its design, the fortress played an important role in the relations between the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark and Sweden until the ^19th century, when it lost its defensive role and became, in part, a prison. Prison that now houses the youth hostel. Since the beginning of the ^20th century, the place has become a museum.

The Länsmuseet is an integral part of the fortress. It offers interactive exhibitions that the visitor follows with an audio guide and, in high season, you will meet knights in armor, peasants and lords who walk through the streets and fortifications. Ideal for children.

The great annual market and the medieval days, the first weekend of July, are a perfect opportunity to visit the fortress, which finds for the occasion the buzzing and colored animation of the past centuries...