Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III
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Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III | |
---|---|
Gustavia, Saint Barthélemy | |
Coordinates | 17°53′48″N 62°49′29″W / 17.896700°N 62.824700°W |
Type | Fortification |
Site information | |
Owner | France |
Open to the public | Yes |
Condition | Ruins |
Site history | |
Built | 1787 |
Materials | Stone |
The Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III (French: Batterie suédoise du fort Gustav III) (also Fort Gustav or Fort Gustave)[1][2] is a historic military battery built in 1787.[3] It is located in Gustavia on the island of Saint Barthélemy, a dependency of France in the Caribbean. The remains of Fort Gustav are registered on the French national list of historic monuments.[3][4]
History of Fort Gustav
[edit]Fort Gustav was the most important fortification in Gustavia during the era of Sweden's rule of Saint Barthélemy.[3] It was one of three forts surrounding Gustavia during the Swedish era, along with Fort Karl and Fort Oscar.[5][6] It was built between 1786 and 1787,[5] on the grounds of previous fortifications built by the French in the late 17th century.[3][5] It comprised a stone guardhouse, stone ramparts, a cistern, a powder house, two sentry boxes, a bakery, and wooden barracks for 12 men.[5] Towards the end of the Swedish period, the battery fell into ruin. The only remains of Fort Gustav are portions of the enclosure, guardhouse, cistern, powder house, and kitchen.[3]
Site today
[edit]In 1952, the Météo France weather station was built on the grounds of Fort Gustav.[5] In 1961, the Gustavia Lighthouse was built on the grounds.[7] In 1995, the remains of Fort Gustav were registered on the French national list of historic monuments.[3][4][5] In 2004, the weather station was renamed Espace Météo Caraïbes[5] and provided a meteorological museum space.[3] In 2017, two period canons were added to the grounds of Fort Gustav, loaned by the Swedish Navy Museum.[8][9] Archeological studies of the fort's remains were done in 2020 and 2023.[10][11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Center, United States Defense Mapping Agency Hydrographic (1976). Sailing directions (enroute) for the Caribbean Sea. Department of Defense, Defense Mapping Agency, Hydrographic Center. p. 169.
- ^ Office, United States Hydrographic (1949). Sailing Directions for the West Indies. Vol. II (6th ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 78.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Batterie suédoise du fort Gustav III à Saint Barthélemy". Comité Territorial de Tourisme de Saint Barthélemy (in French). 2019. Archived from the original on 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ a b Base Mérimée: PA97100004, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Swedish Battlements of Fort Gustav" (PDF). St. Barth Weekly. No. 379. February 2, 2017. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ Körber, Lill-Ann (2019). "Sweden and St. Barthélemy: Exceptionalisms, Whiteness, and the Disappearance of Slavery from Colonial History". Scandinavian Studies. 91 (1–2): 74–97. doi:10.5406/scanstud.91.1-2.0074. ISSN 0036-5637. JSTOR 10.5406/scanstud.91.1-2.0074. S2CID 199267883.
- ^ "A Red and White Landmark". ON AIR. August 10, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "December: Two Swedish Canons For Fort Gustav" (PDF). St. Barth Weekly. No. 391. July 13, 2017. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ "A Swedish Naval Ship, Two Cannons, and the Visit of an Ambassador" (PDF). St-Barth Weekly. No. 260. December 13, 2012. p. 4.
- ^ Saint-Barth, Le Journal de. "Les vestiges du fort Gustaf disséqués avant restauration". Le Journal de Saint-Barth (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-22.
- ^ "Saint-Barthélemy : Étude archéologique des remparts du Fort Gustaf III - Le Courrier de Guadeloupe" (in French). 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
External links
[edit]- "Gustavia". saintbarth-tourisme.com (in French). Comité Territorial de Tourisme de Saint Barthélemy. 27 May 2019.
- "Batterie Suédoise du Fort Gustav III". saintbarth-tourisme.com (in French). Comité Territorial de Tourisme de Saint Barthélemy. 19 May 2019.