Älvsborg Castle

Gothenburg, Sweden

Älvsborg, also Elfsborg Fortress, is a sea fortress situated on the mouth of the Göta Älv river. It served to protect Sweden's access to the Atlantic Ocean and the nearby settlement of today's Gothenburg and its four predecessors. The fortress was relocated in the 17th century, this New Älvsborg Fortress is still maintained. Of the Old Älvsborg Fortress, only few ruins are visible today in the vicinity of the Carnegie-pier. The new fortress was founded in 1621 by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.

In 1643, a settlement in New Sweden, North America, was named Fort Nya Elfsborg, after the Swedish fortress. This settlement was however abandoned in 1655.

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Details

Founded: 1621
Category: Castles and fortifications in Sweden
Historical period: Swedish Empire (Sweden)

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Nelson Rebelo (5 months ago)
A bit over priced for what it is. It is a beautiful fort, and the trip with the old ferry was very cute. But the island and the fort are so small that in less than 30 min you see everything, so I think 250kr per person is a bit exaggerated
Khanh Nguyen (5 months ago)
Nice ride on the boat. There aren’t much interactive activities. The tour is not in English so I cannot understand anything. Food is average compared to the price. Small fortress. I enjoyed the live band and scenery.
Krisztina (17 months ago)
Not as exciting as other castles and you can walk around in an hour. There was a huge crowd on the boat going back. I recommend the smaller boat from K-Sea AB.
Vineeth Pazhupurath (19 months ago)
Not as big as other forts around. less accessible, and expensive to get there with only 2 ferry services operating from different places The ferry is there every 1hr and till 4.30 pm costs 200 sek from långedrags including entrance tickets Every weekend 2pm the staff will fire the canon. Not as exciting as other castles and very less people around the castle due to lack of accessibility Recommend a half day if you are bored and already visited everything else around
Igor Fabjan (4 years ago)
Great day trip to the fortified island. The trip itself on an old ship is worth to go. There are some personnel dressed like in the times when fortress was active but unfortunately acting only in Swedish.
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