Kungahälla
Encyclopedia
Kungahälla was a medieval Norwegian
settlement in southern Bohuslän
at a site which is presently located in Kungälv Municipality
in Västra Götaland County in Sweden
. It is the site of the former fortification at Ragnhildsholmen (Borgen pa Ragnhildsholmen).
talk of Konghelle as a Viking Age
settlement.
According to Snorri Sturluson
, Konghelle was the location of two important royal summits to conclude peace between Sweden and Norway. The first saw the two King Olafs, Olaf II of Norway
of Norway and Olof Skötkonung of Sweden, agree to a peace treaty, ca 1020. The second was called the meeting of the three kings during which the three Scandinavian kings Inge I
of Sweden
, Magnus Barefoot of Norway
and Eric Evergood
of Denmark
met in Kungahälla in 1101. When King Sigurd I Magnusson returned to Norway in 1111 following his crusade, he made his capital in Konghelle.
Konghelle appears in writings by the English chronicler, Orderic Vitalis
, who named the city as one of six Norwegian civitates. During August 1135, the city was attacked and sacked by the Pomeranians
. After the destruction, the city was moved to a site slightly to the west of the original site. Snorri Sturluson
, writing a century later, said that Konghelle never completely recovered.
The city was a center of royal authority during the early Middle Ages
and especially the 13th century, when it was the Norwegian kingdom's southernmost outpost. At this time the fort on Ragnhildsholmen and a Franciscan
monastery were constructed at the site, while Kastelle kloster monastery was rebuilt.
Kastelle kloster
was founded by Archbishop Eysteinn Erlendsson
and built in the middle of the 1200s. The monastery was under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Nidaros
. King Frederick I of Denmark
confiscated the monastery in 1529 as part of the closure of monasteries within his realm.
Ragnhildsholmen is an island in the Göta älv
, a river that drains Lake Vänern into Kattegat
, across from Konghelle. In 1256 Norwegian King Haakon IV of Norway
had invaded Halland
, at that time a province held by Denmark
. The castle was built by King Haakon and played a role in Haakon's expansionist politics. It was the most important Norwegian fortress in this area.
In the early 14th century, Konghelle was the fief of Eric Magnusson of Sweden, father of Magnus II of Sweden, the future king of Sweden and Norway. Duke Eric Magnusson received the fortress as a gift when he helped his father-in-law King Haakon V of Norway
to attack his brother King Birger of Sweden.
After the construction of the stronghold Bohus in 1308 by King Haakon V, the castle on Ragnhildsholmen started to lose its importance as a royal seat. It is not mentioned after 1320. In the later Middle Ages the town's importance further declined. It burned down in 1612, and was afterwards moved to a location near Bohus and renamed Kungälv
. Bohuslän continued to belong to Norway until it was ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Roskilde
in 1658.
During excavations by archaeologist Wilhelm Berg (1891–1892), the remains of the monastery where discovered. The principal excavations of the monastery were during 1953 to 1954 and in 1958 archaeological excavations were carried out of a medieval cemetery area in the ancient city. Several excavations in different places within the old city area were carried out between the years 1985-1994.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
settlement in southern Bohuslän
Bohuslän
' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Götaland on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the west, and the county of Østfold in Norway to the north...
at a site which is presently located in Kungälv Municipality
Kungälv Municipality
Kungälv Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Kungälv....
in Västra Götaland County in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. It is the site of the former fortification at Ragnhildsholmen (Borgen pa Ragnhildsholmen).
History
The Norwegian Kings' sagasKings' sagas
The kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway....
talk of Konghelle as a Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
settlement.
According to Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
, Konghelle was the location of two important royal summits to conclude peace between Sweden and Norway. The first saw the two King Olafs, Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
of Norway and Olof Skötkonung of Sweden, agree to a peace treaty, ca 1020. The second was called the meeting of the three kings during which the three Scandinavian kings Inge I
Inge I of Sweden
Inge the Elder was a King of Sweden.-Biography:Inge was the son of the former King Stenkil and a Swedish princess. Inge shared the rule of the kingdom with his probably elder brother Halsten Stenkilsson, but little is known with certainty of Inge's reign...
of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Magnus Barefoot of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Eric Evergood
Eric I of Denmark
Eric I Evergood , also known as Eric the Good, , was King of Denmark following his brother Olaf I Hunger in 1095. He was a son of king Sweyn II Estridsson, by his wife Gunhild Sveinsdotter, and married Boedil Thurgotsdatter.-Biography:...
of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
met in Kungahälla in 1101. When King Sigurd I Magnusson returned to Norway in 1111 following his crusade, he made his capital in Konghelle.
Konghelle appears in writings by the English chronicler, Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis was an English chronicler of Norman ancestry who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. The modern biographer of Henry I of England, C...
, who named the city as one of six Norwegian civitates. During August 1135, the city was attacked and sacked by the Pomeranians
Pomerania during the High Middle Ages
Pomerania during the High Middle Ages covers the History of Pomerania in the 12th and 13th centuries.The early 12th century Obodrite, Polish, Saxon, and Danish conquests resulted in vassalage and Christianization of the formerly pagan and independent Pomeranian tribes...
. After the destruction, the city was moved to a site slightly to the west of the original site. Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
, writing a century later, said that Konghelle never completely recovered.
The city was a center of royal authority during the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and especially the 13th century, when it was the Norwegian kingdom's southernmost outpost. At this time the fort on Ragnhildsholmen and a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monastery were constructed at the site, while Kastelle kloster monastery was rebuilt.
Kastelle kloster
Kastelle Priory
Kastelle Priory was an Augustinian monastery in Konghelle in the former norwegian province of Båhuslen .The monastery existed from the end of the 12th century until its dissolution during the Reformation in 1529. It was founded by the norwegian archbishop Øystein Erlendsson and completely built...
was founded by Archbishop Eysteinn Erlendsson
Eysteinn Erlendsson
Eysteinn Erlendsson was Archbishop of Nidaros from 1161 to his death in 1188.-Background:...
and built in the middle of the 1200s. The monastery was under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Nidaros
Archdiocese of Nidaros
The Archdiocese of Nidaros was the metropolitan see covering Norway in the later Middle Ages. The see was the Nidaros Cathedral, in the city of Nidaros...
. King Frederick I of Denmark
Frederick I of Denmark
Frederick I of Denmark and Norway was the King of Denmark and Norway. The name is also spelled Friedrich in German, Frederik in Danish, and Fredrik in Swedish and Norwegian...
confiscated the monastery in 1529 as part of the closure of monasteries within his realm.
Ragnhildsholmen is an island in the Göta älv
Göta älv
The Göta is a river that drains lake Vänern into the Kattegat at the city of Gothenburg on the western coast of Sweden. It is located in Götaland, with the river itself being a site of early Geatish settlement. The length is 93 km. Often the combination of Göta älv and Klarälven is mentioned...
, a river that drains Lake Vänern into Kattegat
Kattegat
The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutland peninsula and the Straits islands of Denmark on the west and south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden on the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Øresund and the Danish...
, across from Konghelle. In 1256 Norwegian King Haakon IV of Norway
Haakon IV of Norway
Haakon Haakonarson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....
had invaded Halland
Halland
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
, at that time a province held by Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The castle was built by King Haakon and played a role in Haakon's expansionist politics. It was the most important Norwegian fortress in this area.
In the early 14th century, Konghelle was the fief of Eric Magnusson of Sweden, father of Magnus II of Sweden, the future king of Sweden and Norway. Duke Eric Magnusson received the fortress as a gift when he helped his father-in-law King Haakon V of Norway
Haakon V of Norway
Haakon V Magnusson was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319.-Biography:Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Haakon was descended from king Saint Olav and is considered to have been the last Norwegian king in the Fairhair...
to attack his brother King Birger of Sweden.
After the construction of the stronghold Bohus in 1308 by King Haakon V, the castle on Ragnhildsholmen started to lose its importance as a royal seat. It is not mentioned after 1320. In the later Middle Ages the town's importance further declined. It burned down in 1612, and was afterwards moved to a location near Bohus and renamed Kungälv
Kungälv
Kungälv is a city and the seat of Kungälv Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 21,139 inhabitants in 2005.-History:According to Swedish official sources the city was founded in 1612, when the former settlement at Kungahälla was moved to the Bohus Fortress...
. Bohuslän continued to belong to Norway until it was ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Roskilde
Treaty of Roskilde
The Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February or 8 March 1658 during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
in 1658.
Excavation
Archaeological excavations began in the late 19th century at the Ragnhildsholmen and the monastery of Kastelle kloster sites and continue to the present day. Excavation results indicate that major construction works were carried out by the middle of the 1200s. However, there is archaeological evidence for a royal estate slightly north of the city, dating back to the Viking Era.During excavations by archaeologist Wilhelm Berg (1891–1892), the remains of the monastery where discovered. The principal excavations of the monastery were during 1953 to 1954 and in 1958 archaeological excavations were carried out of a medieval cemetery area in the ancient city. Several excavations in different places within the old city area were carried out between the years 1985-1994.
Other sources
- Andersson, H. Kungahälla (Riksantikvarieämbetet och Statens Historiska Museer, Stockholm, 1981)
- Berg, Wilhelm Bidrag till kännedom om Göteborgs och Bohusläns fornminnen (1883)