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Meløyvær Fortress

Norwegian Cold-War era coastal fortress

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 19, 2026
Entity authorityQ19381360 ↗
Source-derived summary

Meløyvær fortress is a coastal fortress in Norway on Krøttøya in Troms. The construction was of strategic importance to NATO and northern Norway's role during the Cold War. Meløyvær fortress was the last of the fortresses with the 120 mm Bofors guns to be built in Norway. It is a complete construction, authentic and in good condition.

History

Meløyvær fortress was constructed at the end of the 1980s. It was to replace three other coastal fortresses between the islands of Andøya and Senja. Its main purpose was to halt any attacker at the entrance of the Andfjorden. Corresponding coastal artillery was also placed at Nes fortress in Lødingen Municipality and at Kråkvåg in the Trondheimsfjord. Meløyvær fortress was closed down in 2002. The guns were built in a 20 m deep construction which would be self-contained with water and electricity in the event of war.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Meløyvær Fortress” is norwegian Cold-War era coastal fortress. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Meløyvær, Fortress and Norwegian, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2002—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1983-01-01. For this dossier, Meløyvær, Fortress and Norwegian is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “norwegian Cold-War era coastal fortress” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19381360. Authority coordinates are 69.061, 16.544. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2002.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Meløyvær Fortress”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Meløyvær Fortress primary sources, Meløyvær Fortress archive and Meløyvær research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Meløyvær Fortress”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Meløyvær Fortress” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.