The preserved fortifications and history of Landskrona Citadel

Landskrona Citadel, situated in Landskrona, Scania, southern Sweden, is one of Europe's largest and best-preserved fortifications. Initially constructed as a defensive fortress by Christian III of Denmark between 1549 and 1559, the citadel saw the Swedes briefly capture it in 1644 before it was returned to Denmark. It became property of the Swedish King in 1658 as a result of the Treaty of Roskilde. Between 1667 and 1675, the citadel was expanded with extensive bastions.

On August 2, 1676, during the Scanian War, the commandant Hieronymus Lindeberg surrendered himself and the castle to a Danish army unit. Between 1676 and 1679, the castle was used as a center of command by the Scanian voluntary army corps which fought against the Swedish occupiers. Lindeberg survived the Danes but was later executed on order of Swedish king Charles XI. During the middle of the 18th century, the nearby 15th-century church Sancti Johannis Baptistae kyrka was demolished due to fears of enemy cannons in its tower. The citadel was later used as a women's prison from the late 19th century.

After the Second World War, from May 1945, survivors from Nazi German concentration camps were treated at the Citadel. They arrived with the Red Cross buses, locally known as 'the White Buses'. Today, the fortress features Sweden's oldest allotment-garden cottages between the outer and far outer moats. Several of these garden houses are attractions in themselves, and the fortress can be rented for private parties.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons