Borgmästaren, biskopen och tornet : Om en 1600-talskastal i Blekinge

This paper discusses a presumed medieval tower in Blekinge. The tower is situated close to a harbour in an inlet of the Baltic just east of modern day Ronnebyhamn. Archaeological investigations in 2021 and 2023 have however firmly dated the tower to the 17th century, making it the first Scandinavian example of a tower-house from the Early Modern era. The tower originally had at least three floor-levels, today only parts of the walls of the ground floor is preserved. By combining the archaeological and historical record, it is argued that the tower was erected as part of an attempt to create a new harbour for the nearby town of Ronneby. In this process the mayor Knud Pedersson was a driving force. Later the tower was rebuilt by the vicar Knut Hahn, former vice chancellor at Lund university and later bishop in Lund. He probably used the tower for residential purposes. The result show that the many undated towers that exists in Sweden not necessarily needs to be medieval