Vardøhus Fortress

King Håkon V had the first Vardøhus Fortress built around 1300 to secure Norwegian interests on the Northeast Passage against Novgorod. Its completion was initially dated to 1307, but newer archaeological findings also suggest 1330 as probable. In 1326, funds intended for a crusade against Russians and Karelians were instead used for the construction of the first fortress. This consisted of a 30 by 40 meter rectangular area, surrounded by a four-meter-high and two-meter-thick wall, enclosing several buildings and a well. In the 17th century, the fortress was the scene of brutal witch trials, in which almost 80 women were executed. The current octagonal fortress was completed in 1738; its buildings all date from before 1825. In 1769, the Jesuit Maximilian Hell used the fortress for astronomical observations of the transit of Venus. During World War II, the fortress was used to defend the coastal radio station Vardø-Radio and was the last Norwegian unit to hoist the free Norwegian flag, even after the country's capitulation.

Vardøhus Fortress is located in Vardø in the Finnmark region, Northern Norway (Nord-Norge), at an elevation of approximately 0 meters above sea level.

Today, Vardøhus Fortress is accessible to visitors and houses a museum. It also serves as a school for the naval forces and is the only fortress north of the Arctic Circle that fires a special two-shot salute when the sun appears fully above the horizon for the first time each year.

• Fjällnäs Castle (Castle), approx. 555.0 km away
• Solovetsky Monastery (Соловецкий монастырь) (Sacred Building), approx. 627.2 km away
• Kajaanin linna (Castle Ruin) (Ruin), approx. 700.0 km away
• Olavinlinna (Olaf's Castle) (Castle), approx. 953.7 km away