| The Kärnan tower is the only remaining structure of a medieval fortress built in Helsingborg, Scania, Sweden in the 1300s. |
| Long ago the Danish empire was ruled by the young king Erik VI (1274-1319) also known as Erik Menved. Being a cruel and self-absorbed ruler, his people and other kingdoms rose against him. King Erik vowed he would build a fortress so strong no one would be able to conquer it. He instructed his master builder to take out an oath to build an invincible fortress with a majestic keep. The old master builder wanted to help the people against their king but was held by his oath. He turned to magic to solve the problem. On the day the fortress, Kärnan, was completed, the master builder told the king it would ‘most likely be unconquerable’. To have it completely unconquerable a magic spell was needed; a spell that would come at a high price. The king, blinded by his need for the fortress to be perfect did not heed the warnings and spoke the spell the master builder gave him. But with every word he spoke it was as if pieces of his soul left him and flew into the fortress’s keep. When the spell was cast, the fortress had become unconquerable, but the king had suddenly become old and he died soon afterwards. No one since was able to conquer Kärnan and the king’s soul would only find salvation by an act of kindness he himself had never shown while still alive. |