Slottsfjellet and Tunsberghus, Tønsberg

Vestfold · Norway · Ruin

Slottsfjellet and Tunsberghus, Tønsberg — Vestfold · Norway · Ruin

When the Reformation came, the monks are said to have buried the Baglers' treasure on Slottsfjellet. Treasure hunters have searched for five hundred years. No one has found it.

Among Tønsberg's most stubborn legends is the tale of the Baglers' treasure: when the monks feared losing their valuables at the Reformation they are said to have buried it on Slottsfjellet, somewhere beneath the rock in the middle of town. Treasure hunters have searched for centuries. No one has found anything. On the same rock stood Tunsberghus, Norway's largest castle in the fourteenth century, expanded by Håkon Håkonsson with a curtain wall, gate tower and royal residence; the sagas speak of a timber fortress here as early as the mid-1100s. During the risings against King Hans the castle was attacked in 1502 and 1503, and the second time it was taken, plundered and burned by Swedish troops together with farmers from Sande. It was never rebuilt. What remained is the largest ruin park in the Nordic countries, a field of foundations and stairs above the town — and a treasure nobody has been willing to give up on.

FAQ

Where is Slottsfjellet and Tunsberghus, Tønsberg located?

Slottsfjellet and Tunsberghus, Tønsberg is in Vestfold, Norway.

More haunted places in Vestfold

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Bent Tranberg · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons