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| Poznan Fortress |
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| Thursday, 25 February 2010 17:05 |
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In the 19th century Poznan was one of the best fortified cities in this part of Europe. One can still admire the remains of a dozen or so forts and the Poznan Fortress.
The plans for Poznan’s fortifications were initiated by General Carl Wilhelm Georg von Grolman who, at the beginning of the 19th century was the head of the Prussian general headquarters. The transformation of the city into a fortress was conditioned by its strategic location on the Prussian-Russian border. The border between Prussia and Russia then lay only several dozen kilometres east of Poznan. The fortress’s main tasks were twofold: to protect itself and Berlin from potential attack from the direction of Warsaw, which was at that time under Russian rule. Despite the official friendship, neither Prussia nor Russia really trusted each other. However, the fact that the city was surrounded with fortifications for nearly half a century limited its territorial development. The city started to develop outside of the fortress walls as late as the end of the 19th century. The Poznan Fortress was, architecturally speaking, an innovative creation. It used, for the first time, a fortification system later known as “new Prussian.” The construction works started on the 23rd of June 1828, and all finished structures were immediately armed and manned. This allowed the inclusion of Poznan in the group of class two fortresses capable of defence as soon as by 1834. Several years later, the Citadel fortifications, the heart of the entire Poznan Fortress, were erected. The Citadel was constructed on the hill dominating the city, several hundred metres from the Poznan downtown area. It was surrounded by a dry moat with a width of several to several dozen metres and a depth of about 7 metres. All Citadel structures had nearly two-metre-thick walls. By the end of the 19th century though, the development of military technology reduced the importance of the Citadel. These transformations resulted in the construction of a new external ring of forts on the outskirts of the new city, which took over the role of the old fortifications. In the course of several dozen years, 18 forts, 9 main and 9 transitional, were constructed around the city. The remains of these forts can be admired even today in many points of the city. Unfortunately, most of them are not open to visitors. During the First World War the wine fortress fell outside of the military activity area. Also, Wielkopolskan insurgents captured the Citadel without a fight at the end of 1918. In the inter-war period the Citadel was used by the Polish Army, and during the Second World War, Wehrmacht units were based in the Citadel. It was also used to detain Polish, British and Soviet war prisoners. Another tragic part was played by Fort VII, in the west part of Poznan, where the first concentration camp on Polish ground was established. For several years it was a place of imprisonment for more than 18,000 people. Today it houses the Museum of the Martyrdom of Wielkopolska’s Inhabitants. At the end of the war the Citadel became the main point of resistance of the thousands-strong German crew of Festung Posen. Several hundred soldiers of the Red Army and Poznan inhabitants died in the fight to re-capture the fortress, and their graves are situated in a cemetery on the slopes of the Citadel. After the war, the Citadel was gradually demolished. Today it is mainly an attractively situated park, one of the largest, and with a complex of military cemeteries, monuments and sculptures like the “Nierozpoznani” (Unrecognised) by Magdalena Abakanowicz, the Bell of Peace and two museums: Museum of Arms and Museum of the “Poznan” Army situated in the partially restored fort structures. Photos: City Hall |
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