Kongsvinger, Norway

It’s believed that the town has been an important place since the Viking Age, and several finds from the Stone Age have been found in the area. Viking chieftains reached Sweden by boat from Kongsvinger. In the 17th century, the Kongsvinger fortress was constructed by King Christian V of Denmark-Norway to protect the city from attacks from Sweden. The city was redesigned into a grid layout by Johan Caspar de Cicignon, who also designed the street layout for Trondheim. Below the fortress is Øvrebyen, the oldest part of the city and many of the houses were built around the same time the fortress was established.

When Norway entered into a union with Sweden in 1814, Kongsvinger became an important rest stop for travellers between the two countries. The fortress was more or less shut down in 1823. Railway development reached Kongsvinger in 1862 with the construction of the Kongsvinger Line between Lillestrøm and the Swedish border.

Kongsvinger played an important role in the Norwegian resistance against the Nazis by being a gateway to Sweden. Norway’s highest decorated citizen, Gunnar Sønsteby, frequently passed through Kongsvinger in his work to sabotage the Nazis’ installations in Norway. Some of the busiest escape routes for refugees also went through Kongsvinger to Sweden.