- Type
- Fortress
- Built
- 1828 · 19th century
- Location
- Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland
- Coordinates
- 52.4219°, 16.9352°
History
After the Congress of Vienna the Prussians decided to turn Poznań into a fortress guarding the road to Berlin. In 1828 work began on Fort Winiary, a massive citadel on Winiary Hill completed in the 1840s, while the city was enclosed by a ring of ramparts, bastions and gates. Between 1876 and 1896 an outer ring of 18 forts was built around Poznań and extended right up to the First World War. In October 1939 the Germans set up the first concentration camp in occupied Poland in Fort VII. In 1945 the Citadel became the last German stronghold in the city, and its defenders surrendered on 23 February.
What to see
Fort Winiary has become Cytadela Park, the largest park in Poznań, with surviving fragments of the defences, the Armaments Museum, the Poznań Army Museum and cemeteries of soldiers of many nations. The park is also home to Magdalena Abakanowicz's group of sculptures The Unrecognised. Most forts of the outer ring survive; Fort VII houses a martyrdom museum, and others can be seen on walks and at events.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q50127
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