Fort hospice
Map with all coordinates: 
The Fort Hospiz St. Gotthard (army name "Hospizwerk San Gottardo" B 9477, Italian : Forte Ospizio San Gottardo) belongs together with the Forte Airolo to the formerly important works of Swiss national defense . It is located on the high plateau of the Gotthard Pass at the junction of the old Gotthard road to the Sella dam at the Gotthard Hospice, in the municipality of Airolo in the canton of Ticino . The fort, built in 1894, was closed as a combat facility in 1947 and opened as a museum in 1989.
history
Protective trenches were dug into the rock on the Gotthard as early as 1886–1887. In total, the restricted zone on the pass comprised around fifty objects, mostly infantry, caverns and shelters.
The fort hospice was built from 1893–1894 as part of the Gotthard fortifications in open trenches and expanded until 1918. From 1937 to 1946 there was a further expansion ( reduit ) of the pass barrier. The San Carlo artillery works (1938) and the Sasso da Pigna fortress (1941) were built in the vicinity .
From 1947 the fort was only used as accommodation for troops. Today it is a museum and a military facility. The outdoor area is fully accessible; inside, only those parts can be viewed that are not needed as troop accommodation.
- Fort Hospice "San Gottardo Hospice Plant" B 9477 ⊙
plant
The plant consists of two adjacent barracks . The left, higher part is used today as a military museum and the lower part as troop accommodation. From 1891 to 1894 the gun emplacement for a twelve-centimeter self-propelled howitzer was built, a second was soon added and the ammunition magazine and the shooting range were moved to bomb-proof vaults. The barracks were enclosed with a ring of trenches and shelters. In 1900 an observation tank bell was mounted and after 1902 5.3 cm tank stands were built.
Mission and armament
The Fort Hospiz had to secure the north-south connection (Gotthard Pass), support the southern front and block and defend the Gotthard Pass.
During the First World War , the Fort Hospiz was armed with two 12 cm self-propelled howitzers, model 1891, and four 5.3 cm rapid-fire cannons, model 1887, on armored vehicles , seven machine guns, model 1894 (Maxim), and two 10.5 cm compressed air mine launchers, model 1917. In 1939 the Maxim rifles were replaced by model 1911 machine guns, the two armored vehicles by 4.7 cm infantry cannons model 1935/41, and the compressed air mine throwers retired. The outdated hospice facility was closed in 1947 as a fighting facility.
External defense
- Tremola infantry bunker on the right A 8380 ⊙
- Tremola infantry bunker left A 8381 ⊙
- Explosive object Tremola bridge ⊙
- Sella Bridge Infantry Bunker A 8382 ⊙
- Explosive object Viadukt M 1475 ⊙
- 8.1 cm fortress mine launcher Gotthard Pass height A 8389 ⊙
Fortress Company
From 1894 and 1947 the fort was served by a mixed and reinforced fortress artillery company .
museum
The Fort Hospiz as a fortress for the military defense of the central Gotthard Pass is of cultural and historical importance. The building substance, which was slowly decaying due to the limited maintenance, was renovated and the rooms no longer used by the troops were opened as a museum on July 25, 1998. The museum exhibits weapons, equipment and uniforms of the time, such as 12 cm self-propelled howitzers, 5.3 cm cannons, Maxim machine guns, 4.7 cm infantry cannons, and mortars. Videos and historical pictures show scenes from daily work and the war of 1914–1918.
literature
- Eduard Dietler (Colonel and Commander, Preface): Album of the St. Gotthard crew. Album della Guarnigione del S. Gottardo 1914-1916 . Atar Publishing House, Geneva 1916.
Web links
- Official website of the National Museum Fort Airolo
- Fortress Museum Sasso San Gottardo with opening times
- Fort Hospice - pictures of the fort
Individual evidence
- ^ [1] Fortificazioni Ticinesi fortress hiking trail no. 9: Object 12 San Gottardo hospice facility B 9477
- ↑ Oberland Fortress: Gotthard Pass
- ↑ bunker friends: Equipment Gotthard Pass
- ↑ bunker friends: Fieudo, Tremola, Motto di Dentro