Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III

Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III
Gustavia, Saint Barthélemy
Hill with Gustavia Lighthouse and two canons, which was the location of Fort Gustav
Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III is located in Saint Barthélemy
Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III
Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III
Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III is located in Caribbean
Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III
Swedish battery of Fort Gustav III
Coordinates17°53′48″N 62°49′29″W / 17.896700°N 62.824700°W / 17.896700; -62.824700
TypeFortification
Site information
OwnerFrance
Open to
the public		Yes
ConditionRuins
Site history
Built1787
MaterialsStone

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

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]

Canons on the grounds of Fort Gustav
Gustavia Lighthouse, located on the grounds of Fort Gustav

Site today

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

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Office, United States Hydrographic (1949). Sailing Directions for the West Indies. Vol. II (6th ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 78.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b Base Mérimée: PA97100004, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "A Red and White Landmark". ON AIR. August 10, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "A Swedish Naval Ship, Two Cannons, and the Visit of an Ambassador" (PDF). St-Barth Weekly. No. 260. December 13, 2012. p. 4.
  10. ^ Saint-Barth, Le Journal de. "Les vestiges du fort Gustaf disséqués avant restauration". Le Journal de Saint-Barth (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  11. ^ "Saint-Barthélemy : Étude archéologique des remparts du Fort Gustaf III - Le Courrier de Guadeloupe" (in French). 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  • "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.