After the battles during world war two, Hegra Fortress was a place that became known to withstand the Germans, although they too in the end had to raise the white flag. After the war, people started to believe that one of the fallen soldiers was still there, wandering the deep and damp tunnels. 

On a rugged ridge above the Stjørdalen valley lies one of Norway’s most storied military strongholds. Hegra Fortress stands today as a testament to resilience, a museum and national heritage site that preserves the memory of Norwegian resistance. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Norway

Hegra Fortress, originally called Ingstadkleiva Fort, was constructed between 1908 and 1910 as part of Norway’s post-union defenses against Sweden. The rugged geological terrain was carved with tunnels, communication passages, and underground halls to support infantry, artillery, and command positions.

Photo: Cato Edvardsen/Wikimedia

Its greatest test came in the spring of 1940, when a small force of roughly 250 Norwegian soldiers and volunteers held out against overwhelming German invasion forces for nearly a month. Led by Major Hans Reidar Holtermann, the defenders resisted bombardment and assault before finally surrendering on May 5, 1940.

The Germans became increasingly present in the area, and on April 14 the actual fighting for Hegra began. The fortress was besieged and shelled with various types of artillery. Nevertheless, new defenders continued to join the fortress. The Germans also began bombing from aircraft, while attempting to storm the facility. The ground attacks were repulsed. The fortress shelled a number of enemy positions over the next few days, several of which were put out of action.

Surrendering: The garrison of Hegra Fortress assembled in front of the fortress following their 5 May 1940 surrender after the Battle of Hegra Fortress.

The soldier who never left

According to local lore and visitor reports, one specter walks the subterranean passages beneath Hegra Fortress: the ghost of a German soldier who is said to have died, or at least stayed in the fortress’s infirmary in April 1940. Although six Norwegian soldiers died during the battles, it is the mysterious German soldiers, the staff believed haunts the fortress today. 

Among the soldiers defending the fortress was “the one woman”, Anne Margrethe Bang, later called Lotta from Hegra. The leadership was supposedly skeptical about letting her in, but Bang, the doctor’s daughter, insisted, was let in, stayed, and distinguished herself as a skilled medical soldier. 

The Norwegians were said to have found a wounded German soldier here in the forest who they took to the infirmary in the room over here. where he was cared for by Hegra Lotten. We don’t know what happened to him, but he is the only German soldier who was here during the fighting according to the stories.

Photo: Cato Edvardsen/Wikimedia

Multiple witnesses claim to have heard footsteps echoing in the tunnels long after closing time. Others speak of sounds like muffled knocks that seem to come from deep within the stone corridors. Some explorers describe flickering lights deep underground, switches that flick off just as visitors enter, as though unseen hands resent the intrusion.

The boy who vanished

But is the German soldier haunting the tunnels alone? One particularly chilling tale attached to the ghost stories involves a local youth who ventured into the fortress shortly after the war and never came back. Local legend attributes some of the eerie happenings in the lower levels to the lost boy. 

According to the legend, he descended into the lower tunnels and was never seen again. Whether he simply got lost in the labyrinthine passages or something darker befell him remains part of the whispered folklore around Hegra. 

This story circulates mostly in local memory rather than historical records, yet it persists among ghost hunters and visitors alike. 

http://adressa.no/tv/i/oWRXOW/spoker-det-pa-hegra-festning 

Haunted Occurrences at Hegra Fortress

Ida-Lise Dirks works as a guide at Hegra Fortress , and could tell about strange events in the rooms and tunnels.

– When I started working as a guide, I was at work on a Sunday night. We had a late opening and I was supposed to go around and pick up some trash. When I entered this room, I heard someone marching down the hallways here, says Dirks.

She was quick to turn around and get out of the pitch-dark room. Dirks also tells of a family with children who were on a trip to the area. They had a camera with them, but when they entered the room where the participants were sleeping, the camera didn’t work. The family goes back outside. They walk around the top of the bunker and the camera takes pictures.

– They think they have to go back to take a picture. They took a picture and my boss got it by email. There we see that there is a shadow of a soldier standing in the door out there, says Dirks.

Haunted Fortress: Some of the soldiers defending Hegra Fortress during the Battle of Hegra Fortress assembled in one of the fortress’ halls.

Dirks also says that her boss used to keep his keys around his neck and down in his breast pocket. Several times the keys have been bent in the pocket, but no one knows why. Per Wold, chairman of the Friends of Hegra Fortress, has experienced the same thing.

– A few years ago, a barrier with a lock was set up a kilometer from the fortress. I had the key to the barrier in my pocket, and it bent. I got a new key, which I never used. It also bent.

Today, Hegra Fortress is open to the public as a museum of national significance, featuring well-preserved trenches, artillery positions, and miles of underground halls once buzzing with wartime activity. Visitors come to learn about the resistance of 1940 and to walk the same paths that Norwegian and German soldiers once trod. 

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References:

Det spøker i bunkeren – NRK Trøndelag – Lokale nyheter, TV og radio

– Er dette et fotografi av gjenferdet? – bladet.no

https://radiorevolt.no/post/her-kan-du-jakte-sp%C3%B8kelser-i-trondheim