Projects in the Association for Høytorp fort
Below, the Association for Høytorp will soon present our ongoing and completed projects. Most of the work is done on a voluntary basis, but we are of course dependent on capital, as both goods and services have to be bought in, in addition to all our own efforts!
Of the larger projects we have carried out, mention can be made of felling and clearing in the area, renovation of the interior of building no. 19, preparation of the artillery exhibition in building no. 11, opening of bricked-up parts of the facility, preparation of a separate small fortress museum, installation of tower cannons and the ongoing project of refurbishing the mountain facility's kitchen, officers' mess and adjoining officers' room.
The Fortress Museum
Helt siden 1998 har Foreningen for Høytorp fort hatt utstilling i fjellanleggets gamle elektrisitetsverk. Oljemotor, dynamo og utstyr var for lengst fjernet, og rommene hadde blitt benyttet som våpen- og ammunisjonslager inntil 1994. I begynnelsen viste vi fotografier, kart og byggetegninger. Etter hvert fikk vi vårt første utstillingsmonter. Senere ble rommene innredet med skillevegger og tre nye utstillingsmonter. Stadig flere gjenstander, våpen og uniformer ble gitt i gave til Foreningen for Høytorp fort, og utstillingen ble stadig større. I den siste tiden er den blitt omgjort, og mer profesjonell. Mer komplette uniformer fra tiden rundt 1915 - 1940 er kommet på plass. Siste tilskudd er et nytt veggmonter for norske håndvåpen og plassering av en Colt M/29 Tung mitraljøse i monter.
The mountain farm's kitchen
At the moment, major charity work is underway in the Association for Høytorp fort, to restore Reduiten's old kitchen. In April 2016, the fort's baking oven was rebuilt according to original drawings from 1915 in the National Archives. This has later been used for both bread baking and other cooking. We have opened several pipe runs, and have bricked in sweep hatches and flues, and set up brewing pans and a wood stove for the kitchen. Furthermore, we have inserted doors, painted rooms and now it remains to create a simple contemporary kitchen interior. In addition to the kitchen, we have also set up the officer's mess and adjoining officer's room by painting, putting in doors, opening pipes, bricking in flues and sweeping hatches, as well as installing coke ovens for heating. We do this so that rooms can be used for events at the fort. We have also bought in tables and stools for use in the aforementioned room, and there is now room for 48 people there. Colors in said room are the original from 1915, white, red, green and doors in green umber. We are now in the process of refurbishing the old provisions warehouse, so that we also get 48 seats there.
Tower cannon project year 2009 - 2015
Plans for the return of the tower cannons that the Germans had removed from the fort in 1943 already started when the Association for Høytorp fort was founded in 1996. It was only when we acquired the Defense Museum in 2003 that the plans began to take shape. The places where the guns were placed by the Germans were visited and the relevant municipalities and landowners were contacted. But due to a lack of funds (many rejections of applications) we were unable to get started. We still ended up with the return of three cannons, out of the original four!
See also our own photo series about the tower cannon project under Photo Gallery
The mountain farm's kitchen
At the moment, major charity work is underway in the Association for Høytorp fort, to restore Reduiten's old kitchen. In April 2016, the fort's baking oven was rebuilt according to original drawings from 1915 in the National Archives. This has later been used for both bread baking and other cooking. We have opened several pipe runs, and have bricked in sweep hatches and flues, and set up brewing pans and a wood stove for the kitchen. Furthermore, we have inserted doors, painted rooms and now it remains to create a simple contemporary kitchen interior. In addition to the kitchen, we have also set up the officer's mess and adjoining officer's room by painting, putting in doors, opening pipes, bricking in flues and sweeping hatches, as well as installing coke ovens for heating. We do this so that rooms can be used for events at the fort. We have also bought in tables and stools for use in the aforementioned room, and there is now room for 48 people there. Colors in said room are the original from 1915, white, red, green and doors in green umber. We are now in the process of refurbishing the old provisions warehouse, so that we also get 48 seats there.
12 cm Schneider L/40 turret cannon
In September 2011, we applied for the Sparebankstiftelsen DNB Nor and Norsk Kulturminnefond for funds for; Project 12 cm Schneider L/40 turret gun. We received the requested amount from the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Fund. On 20 September 2012, the chairmanship of Eidsberg municipality granted NOK 200,000 for the project. We applied to Sparebankstiftelsen DNB Nor again in September 2013, and were granted our application of NOK 500,000. The association for Høytorp fort worked for Høytorp fort to become Norway's first (and presumably only) restored armored fort, with original gun turrets, command posts, close defense positions and barbed wire barriers intact! The project was financed in the spring of 2014, and started up in the autumn of 2014. Already at the turn of July - August 2015, the gun turret was fully assembled and test fired!
The project consisted of dismantling a cannon tower at Midbrød near Egersund, and then transporting it back to Høytorp fort. Missing parts have been replaced by new copies of the original, and a lot of work has gone into making the turret cannon fully functional! The project totaled just over NOK 1.6 million.
The 12 cm Schneider turret gun is available to visitors during the tours, and arrangements are made for school pupils to be able to try operating the gun turrets. A tour of Høytorp fort is part of the cultural school bag, where the entire 9th grade in the municipality participates. On certain occasions, the turret cannon is fired with a loose shot, a popular feature that attracts many spectators.
7.5 cm Cockerill L/50 turret
In the spring of 2009, Skifte Eiendom started remediation work on Storøya fort, Karmøy. In this connection, Skifte Eiendom assumed the additional costs associated with picking up and preparing two 7.5 cm Cockerill gun turrets for shipping. The transport company then transported the cannon towers to Høytorp fort as an exercise in June 2009.
When the cannon towers had arrived at Høytorp fort, it was easier and finally to get commitments for funds for the project. Norsk Kulturminnefond, Eidsberg Sparebank, Eidsberg municipality and the Association for Høytorp fort financed the installation and rehabilitation of the two 7.5 cm gun turrets. Skifte Eiendom and the Norwegian Armed Forces have sponsored the project with works corresponding to approx. NOK 450,000 Total cost is approx. NOK 1,500,000
Kanonrør og mekanismer til begge tårnkanonene ble dessverre skrotet av Forsvaret rundt 1960. Vi hadde ingen tegninger eller beskrivelser av hvordan det så ut innvendig i kanontårnet, og gjentatte forsøk på å få hjelp, både her hjemme og i utlandet har dessverre ikke ført frem. Vi har fått to kanonrør fra 75 mm Bofors tårnkanoner fra nedlagte kystfort, og benyttet disse i en noe omgjort form i våre to Cockerill kanontårn.
One of the 7.5 cm Cockerill towers has been made accessible inside to visitors during the tours, and the tower should be able to be operated by, for example, school pupils.
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