Altenhus Fortress

Altenhus Fortress was intended to prevent Swedish incursions into the area, and secure the rich salmon fisheries for the Dano-Norwegian state.

The structure only remained in military use for three years, before being abandoned and used as a prison until 1692, when the timber of the fortress' blockhouse was used in the construction of a church.

[1] Christian IV had a strong interest in the Finnmark region, having personally led a naval expedition along the coast of Norway, as far as the then-disputed Kola Peninsula in present-day Russia.

The Dano-Norwegian governor of Finnmark had had built in the 1560s a Goahti (earthen hut) near the river to house one of his bailiffs during the salmon season.

From 1605 onwards Charles IX of Sweden laid claim on equal taxation rights on the salmon fisheries in the Alta River as that of the Dano-Norwegian king, and from 1606 competing Dano-Norwegian and Swedish tax collectors demanded taxes and, in the case of the Swedes, labour from the Samis fishing in the river.

[4] In response to the repeated Swedish incursions on territory claimed by Denmark-Norway in the north of Norway, and in order to secure the salmon fisheries in the Alta River, King Christian IV on 17 August 1610 ordered Governor Claus Gagge to build a fortification near Alta River.

The completion of the construction of the fortification, at various times called both Kongshus and Altenhus Fortress, by 14 labourers began in early May 1611 and lasted until mid-August of that year.

[9] The construction of the fortress on Årøya, led to a comparatively considerable immigration of Norwegians to the area, many arriving as carpenters and soldiers.

[18] The ramparts from the fortress are the oldest existent remains relating to the Dano-Norwegian efforts at gaining control of Finnmark, and as such have been declared as protected by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage.