Bornholm is placed in the midst of the Baltic Sea and has therefore been an important crossing point for trade routes for millennia. But with the trade came unpeaceful times, in which Bornholm often was ravaged and plundered by foreign forces. Therefore big fortresses and castles were needed to defend the local population and to demonstrate the island’s own emperors. Today we know seven places where such a castle was situated.
Even though Bornholm is a rather little island, is has rather many castles and fortresses compared to the population of about 8.000 inhabitants, that lived on Bornholm during the Iron Age and the Viking Era. We have an overview over all seven places.
