page_title: Boden Fortress
section_title: Finishing touches
hierarchical_section_title: Boden Fortress / Construction / Finishing touches
caption_attribution_description: A built-in caponier at Rödberget fort, part of Boden Fortress.
context_page_description: Boden Fortress is a modern fortress consisting of several major and minor forts and fortifications surrounding the city of Boden, Norrbotten, in northern Sweden. The fortress was originally intended to stop or delay attacks from the east or coastal assaults, which at the time of construction meant Russian attacks launched from Finland. It was primarily the expansion of the railway net in Norrland, which in turn was a consequence of the rising importance of the northern iron ore fields, that led to the increased strategic value of northern Sweden and the construction of the fortress. Although the main forts were finished in 1908, many of the supporting fortifications were not completed until the start of the First World War. Improvements were also continuously made during, and between, both World Wars.
  Boden Fortress is made up of five primary self-supporting forts excavated out of the bedrock in five of the mountains surrounding Boden: Degerberget, Mjösjöberget, Gammelängsberget, Södra Åberget and Rödberget. Eight fortified secondary artillery positions were constructed between the forts to give flanking support and to cover areas not in range of the main forts' artillery.
context_section_description: When the ditches and tunnels were finished, concrete works started, including flooring, construction of joist systems in forts with second floors, staircases, partition walls and counterscarp galleries. Water wells were bored to a depth of up to 200 metres (660 ft) to guarantee water supply, since the forts were supposed to be self-supporting. However, the most demanding part of the project was the construction, transport and installation of the armoured turrets and the armament itself. Two companies had been previously contracted for the construction of other fortifications in Sweden, Swedish AB Bofors-Gullspång and French Compagnie des Forges de Châtillon, offers from both companies existed already in 1901, but it was not until after tests conducted in December 1902 that the Swedish company was contracted and given royal approval on 26 May 1903. The order was for the 8.4 cm (3.3 in) and 12 cm (4.7 in) pieces that was to be mounted on the first three forts. The following two forts at Rödberget and Mjösjöberget were to have 15 cm (5.9 in) pieces, an order Bofors would get as well, but due to the time factor a few of those were actually delivered by the French company.
  The cost of a single armoured turret for a 12 cm piece was almost 100,000 kronor—around $800,000 (as of 2011) in today's money—and it could weigh as much as 100 tonnes (220,000 lb). It was delivered in parts to simplify transport, but the heaviest part still had a weight of 26 tonnes (57,000 lb). The parts were delivered by rail up to Boden and unloaded with the help of gantry cranes. As the roads of the time could not handle the weight during summer, transport had to wait until winter when the frost had hardened the ground. The turret parts were lifted onto sleighs drawn by 16–30 horses depending on the situation. The toughest stretch, up the mountain, was handled with the help of block and tackle, the ditch was crossed on temporarily built sturdy wooden bridges and the mounting of the turret was finished with cranes. A major part of the mounts for the turrets were completed by the end of 1905, despite the harsh winter working conditions, with temperatures falling below −40 °C (−40 °F) at times. The peak workforce amounted to around 900 men, but their numbers fluctuated, with the lowest number of active workers during the winter months. The first artillery test firing was conducted on 15 January 1907 when the guns at Gammelängsberget fired their first rounds, and all five forts "were in a defensible state" by 1908.
caption: One of the counterscarp galleries at Rödberget Fort. 57 mm caponier cannon (kaponjärkanoner) and machine guns were stationed behind the green armoured hatches, ready to fire at any intruder in the ditch.
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