A brief summary of Høytorp fort's history
After the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 and the Treaty of Karlstad, the Norwegians had to accept that the so-called Border Fortresses were closed down and that a neutral zone was created along both sides of the border from Elverum in the north and south.
01
1905-1915
Urskog fort, Vittenbergåsen battery, Ørjekollen fort, Lihammeren fort, Veden skanse and Hjelmkollen fort were all demolished (torn down) in 1906. The gunnery that was mounted on Fredriksten fortress in 1902-1903 was removed, and the fortress was only to be maintained as a historical memorial.
The newly built facilities, Vardåsen fort and Gullbekkåsen fort, at Kongsvinger were allowed to remain on the condition that the facilities could not be reinforced or modernized. Norway was then only left with the prepared positions along the Glomma Line, intended for the Position Artillery Battalion.
Work on planning new defense facilities began immediately after the dissolution of the Union in 1905. Construction of new defense facilities here in the Fossum section was dealt with by; The Fortification Committee of 1905, the Fortification Artillery in 1906 and the Søndenfjeld Defense Committee 1907-1909.
In 1908, Høytorpåsen was measured by the Ingeniørvapenet, and a map was drawn up on a scale of 1:1000. This became the starting point for the further development of the plant. An area of approx. 600 acres, mostly open fields.
The architect behind the fortifications themselves was engineer captain Thomas Neumann. He had for several years studied fortifications on the continent, mainly in France and Germany, and he came directly from the development of Ingstadkleven fort in Stjørdal, which has subsequently become better known as Hegra fortress.
The Storting's Defense Committee maintained the proposal from the Fortress Artillery in its recommendation in 1910, and in the same year the first grant was granted. In 1911, the Storting decided that work on Høytorp fort and Trøgstad fort should begin, and from 1912 there was full construction activity at both sites. Construction work was started in the summer of 1912, immediately after the Storting's decision. The construction of the bridge galleries started in 1913.
When the fort began to take shape, it resulted in protests from the Swedish side. Some there believed that the construction of the fort itself was an unfriendly act. The matter was even taken up in the Riksdag.
But from the Norwegian side, one could only show that the fort was located west of, and at a safe distance from, the demilitarized zone.
Fossumstrøket's fortress was the only offensive bridgehead built in Norway, and together with Kongsvinger fortress, Sarpsborg fortress, Fredrikstad mine defense, Rauøy coastal fort and Bolærne coastal fort formed the outer defense ring around Kristiania (Oslo). The fortress was specially built to support mobile army operations, and as a maneuver and depot fortress.
02
1915-1945
Up to nine hundred construction workers, all Norwegian citizens, participated at the plant on Høytorpåsen. In the summer of 1915, almost exactly three years after construction began, 12 cm turret guns were mounted and the fort was almost complete. The fortress's first commander was Colonel Olaf Elias Jølsen, who came from the position of commander at Agdene's fortress.
The first commander, Olaf Elias Jølsen, was appointed in June 1915, and from August of the same year the first recruit school was held at Høytorp fort, at Trøgstad fort from the summer of 1916. The bridge galleries at Glomma were completed in 1917, and the fortress was handed over as completed in 1918. Jølsen retired in 1929 and Lauritz A. Rodtwitt took over as commander in 1930 until surrender in 1940. The fortress is the only land fortification to survive the cutbacks in the Army Order of 1927 and 1933.
After the peace in 1945, Halvor Gudmundsen became commander until the fortress was closed down in 1959.
After 1945, Høytorp Fort used as a training ground for the field artillery formations of the German Brigade.
From 1956 to August 1994, the transport regiment had its headquarters here. The facility was protected in 2001 and transferred to Eidsberg municipality in 2003. Today, the entire area is taken over by the municipality and is a national fortification on the same lines as Akershus fortress in Oslo and Fredriksten fortress in Halden.
The bridge galleries are still owned by the state, and now belong to the National Fortifications Works.
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