Audunborg

About

Audunborg (lit. 'Audun's castle') was a castle and fortification built by Norwegian nobleman Audun Hugleiksson on his inherited estate near the village of Ålhus on the shores of the Jølstravatnet in what is now Sunnfjord Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The site was located about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north-east of the village of Vassenden.

History: The castle was built in stone sometime between 1276 and 1286, probably by English craftsmen working out of Bergen. The rectangular building was 22 by 13 metres (72 ft × 43 ft) and is thought to have had three stories, a store room in the ground floor, living quarters on the next floor, and a feast hall in the top floor. It had large windows and arches. The building itself had water on three sides and was thus easy to defend. It is also thought that a moat or castle wall was part of the fortifications. Recent research claims that Audun himself spent little time in his castle as his activities kept him either in Bergen, in the east of the country or abroad. As a baron, Audun Hugleiksson was allowed to keep a hird (armed retinue) a right otherwise reserved for the king. This hird would defend him on his travels and when he was...