Varberg Fortress, Halland — Aveelen

An impressive early 18th-century copperplate engraving of the fortified town of Varberg, dominated by its medieval coastal fortress.

Original title: WARDBERG. Engraved by Johannes van den Aveelen. From Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna. Published in Stockholm, 1718.

Varberg's fortress passed from Danish to Swedish control after the 1645 Treaty of Brömsebro and was systematically modernised under Charles XI as part of the new south-western frontier defences. Aveelen's plate captures the strategic stronghold at its 18th-century apogee, before its slow demilitarisation during the Napoleonic age.

Copperplate engraving. Good.