Fortress of Alsburg

Connections

• One of Sir Roland's myriad titles is "Victor of the Siege of Alsburg"
• Sir Roland's single-handed storming of the Fortress of Alsburg inspired forty-seven epic ballads and a Lifetime miniseries

Context

The "Fortress of Alsburg" likely refers to Nordborg Castle, which lies in the town of Nordbord on the northern side of the Danish island of Als. When the structure was built and founded, it was given the name of Alsburg (or Alsborg), and has existed ever since the middle of the 12th century. The castle was renamed "Nordborg" after the founding of Sonderborg Castle on the southern part of the island of Als.

Nordborg Castle was occupied many times over its lifetime by many Scandinavian and European groups at the time. With all of these occupations, it is hard to tell whether England (and someone like Sir Roland) was ever involved in our own history. We can only conclude that many sieges and "stormings" of this fortress occurred. It is also unclear whether the TV network Lifetime ever really did a miniseries about the storming of the Fortress of Alsburg (or any historical miniseries, for that matter).

Fun fact: the castle is now a Danish boarding school.