Big Henry (Store Henrik in Swedish) in another ground tower from an older period, similar to The Gray Goose (https://reveal.world/story/the-gray-goose). This and the other full-length towers along the southern part of the wall were the first purely defensive towers to be added to the wall. In certain aspects they also differ from the other towers of the wall, they have been placed quite squarely on the wall, with one side also protruding towards the town side. The later towers were built in line with the wall, with only the front facade facing the outside, protruding beyond the line of the wall. The towers along the southern stretch are also more stocky in character and display more Romanesque elements.

The name is interesting. “Big” most likely comes from the tower being large, but why it is also called “Henry” is unknown. There should be something special about the name Henry (Henrik) because St. George’s Gate was at some point called Andre Långe Henrik and there is also a tower called Långe Henrik. And who knows, maybe somewhere there was a Small Henry tower as well?

In the 18th century Big Henry got the nickname Little Gunpowder Tower (Lilla Kruttornet). 

Photo: W.carter