Kastellet- A Star shaped Fortress in Copenhagen-Winter vs Summer!

Kastellet is a small star shaped fortress located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the best preserved one in Northern Europe. Kastellet is located near Osterport station. It is right behind little mermaid statue that every tourist to Copenhagen stops by.

I had visited Kastellet area during my previous visits to Copenhagen and had taken some photos on my mobile. That was summer time and the lazy me had not blogged about it yet. This time I visited it again in winter, right after a night full of snowfall. Seeing Kastellet in all white snow cover was a totally different experience. Finally happy I am able to compose a post about Kastellet- using photos from both winter and summer which will help you get both the perspectives.

Kastellet was constructed in 1626 on the orders of King Christian IV as a defense against any attack from the ocean. The star shaped campus has a water body separating it from mainland, connected by two bridges. Inside the campus there's a windmill, few residential buildings- meant for soldiers and storage facilities and a church.

The entrance:
Next few photos show the entrance of Kastellet in different angles, in winter and in summer.





Above: Summer View
Below: The other entrance

A soldier's statue near the entrance and foot marks on snow

The Kastellet Star Fortress has seen many battles, including the Sweden-Denmark war during 1658 (Sweden won), Battle of Copenhagen with England in 1807 and as late as 1940 when Germany invaded Denmark during the world war.

Some key facilities inside the Kastellet star fortress
1. The Windmill




2. Commander's House

 3. The church


The Powder House (Black gun powder used to be stored here)

The rows (Residences)- where military barracks were. Now used for residential purposes.



Play area


Walking areas in the outer periphery





Yellow flowers in snow

Current Usage:

Today Kastellet Fortress is used as a recreational area- locals enjoy taking a walk here and tourists who visit Little Mermaid and have extra time walk around the campus too. We can find many cars parked in the campus- the buildings must be housing people- not sure who stays here- my guess few families of military personnel connected to the Fortress.

The global headquarters of AP Moller Maersk, world's No. 1 shipping company is adjacent to the Kastellet fortress. Maersk foundation has reportedly donated generous money to help renovate this fortress towards the end of 20th century.

During my summer visit I could walk on the inner walls and get close to the windmill. During winter (at least when I visited) the same path is out of bounds for visitors- most probably because of the risk involved in walking over snow- one may slip and fall into the canal below.

 A stone found in the campus- Kongens Bastion means King's Bastion. Each corner of the star shaped fort is given a name. King's Bastion, Queen's Bastion, Price's Bastion, Princess Bastion and The Count's Bastion.

 A summer view

No entry fee to visit Kastellet. Free toilet facilities are also available. But no shops or cafes inside.

Best view of Kastellet fort complex is from the top, which I can't provide, google for some pics. Wikipedia page has more details of the fort.

Reaching Kastellet: Take S train to Osterport from Copenhagen Central or Norreport, Kastellet is walkable from there. If you're visiting Nyhavn, Kastellet is about 1.5 kms from there, walk would be best if you can. Hop on Hop off buses do stop near Kastellet.

Nearby attractions: Little Mermaid * Church * Nyhavn

Other Star shaped forts I have seen: Star fort in Matara, Srilanka * Manjarabad Fort, Sakaleshpura, India *