Austrått Fort

Opphaug, Norway

Austrått Fort is a disused coastal artillery site constructed in 1942 by the German Wehrmacht to protect the Trondheimsfjord during the German occupation of Norway during World War II. The fort's centrepiece is a triple 28 cm SK C/34 naval gun turret from the German battleship Gneisenau, which was damaged in Kiel. The three gun turret weighs 800 tonnes and was capable of firing 38 kilometres. The last firing took place in 1953 and the fort was decommissioned in 1968. It opened as a museum in 1991.

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Address

Fylkesveg 232 4040, Opphaug, Norway
See all sites in Opphaug

Details

Founded: 1942
Category: Castles and fortifications in Norway

More Information

www.forsvarsbygg.no
en.wikipedia.org
www.visitnorway.com

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Ørland Church (4 km)


Byneset Church (43,8 km)
Skaun Church (53,4 km)

User Reviews

Rich Buckley (2 years ago)
Beautiful area, great to see some military history restored and remaining. I was fortunate to be there during a military exercise and their was Germans with military equipment at the fort.
Derrick Donnelly (3 years ago)
Really Amazing. Those guns are much bigger than I was expecting
Lasse Thun (3 years ago)
One of a kind German WWII fort with a triple barrel turret from the ship Gneisenau. Must see!
kitzune Vos (3 years ago)
Good site to visit but not always opened as published on internet
Markus Schweizer (3 years ago)
One of the highlights in the region talking about history. I liked it very much and dislike WWII stuff. Guided tours are mostly from 11am - 3 pm during the summer.
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The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

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Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

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In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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