The large model is a rendering of the Varberg fortress, as it stood in the 1600s and 1700s. It still looks pretty much the same. Right now, you are inside one of the buildings that surround the courtyard – the one closest to the sea.

The first stronghold in this place was built in the Middle Ages, around the year 1300, and it consisted only of the houses encircling the courtyard. Around the year 1600, it was expanded into a fortress, with all the walls and bastions that can be seen in the model. Walls and earthworks were meant to act as protection from the new weapon: the cannon.

From 1563 to 1718, many wars were fought between Sweden and Denmark – often on Halland soil. It was a terrible time for the locals, with fires, famine and death. Halland was under Danish rule until 1645, when it was conquered by Sweden.

Behind you in this room are several items, all well-preserved, in a display case. These items were hidden in a well in the city Ny Varberg, which lay just north of present-day Varberg. The items were probably hidden in 1612, to prevent plundering soldiers from taking them.

©Hallands kulturhistoriska museum