Fort IV of the fortress in Toruń

Access to the fort on the south side

The Fort IV Toruń fortress (now called Fort IV Yorck Żółkiewski ) is an original Prussian artillery fort from the 1880s. It was initially named after the Prussian Field Marshal Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg and in 1926 was named after the Polish general Stanisław Żółkiewski .

history

The fort is now located in an industrial park on Bolesław-Chrobry Street on the northern outskirts of Toruń, around 3.5 kilometers from the historic city center. The plant was one of the defenses of the Prussian fortress Thorn , which was built from 1878 to 1914. Fort V, which is the same size, is 1000 meters to the west, and Fort III, an intermediate plant , is 500 meters south-east . Fort IV was built between 1878 and 1884 as one of 15 constructions in the fortress belt. This belt enclosed the city center at a distance of about 3.5 kilometers over a length of 22 kilometers.

The plant was equipped with two batteries with a total of 14 medium-caliber and 15 to 22 heavy-caliber guns. The fire area extended from the area in Papowo Toruńskie to today's Toruń district of Grębocin . Firepower was never to be used, just as the fort itself was never attacked. In addition to two infantry companies with around 500 soldiers and the gun operators, it had a target manpower of 800 men, NCOs and officers. In Prussian times the fort was designated II, as only the main works of the belt were numbered. At the end of the 19th century and before the First World War, the casemates were covered with around 1 meter of earth in order to increase the resistance to excessive artillery fire up to 150 mm. In 1907, a generator powered by two diesel engines was installed, which enabled the system to be supplied with power independently, particularly for ventilation and the ammunition winches.

In January 1920, the fort was taken over by the Polish army in a technically good, but disarmed condition and assigned to the 63rd Toruń Infantry Regiment ( 63 Toruński Pułk Piechoty ). In 1926 it was renamed. In 1956 the plant was demilitarized . Later a mushroom production was housed here. In the 1990s the work was sold to the private citizen Jerzey Okoński. Under him and with the help of an association, the property was restored and has served as a hotel and event location ever since. It has been a listed building since 1971.

architecture

Fort IV is a large, Prussian standard artillery fort of the time with the usual pentagonal shape and the upstream glacis . The main direction of defense was north, the approach is in the south. In contrast to the single-storey facilities of the Russians, the casemates of the Prussian plant were two-storey. It was built from brick and is already reinforced with concrete. Forehead ( front ) and shoulder form buildings protected by earthen walls, which were equipped with artillery positions, artillery depots and ready rooms. The rear (southern) part was the barracks, which housed the soldiers 'and officers' quarters as well as the dining rooms and kitchens. In the middle and leaning against the barracks were ammunition and other storage rooms. From this central point of the facility, most of the defensive positions could be reached under cover. The fort is surrounded by a dry moat walled on both sides . The trench could be defended in close combat by means of a pointed capon and two unilateral capons on the shoulders. The caponiers were accessible from the courtyards via postern .

On the front wall there were two covered observation devices, the dome, which was assigned to the fire control station for artillery use, which was protected by a 1 meter thick reinforced concrete ceiling, could be rotated by the observer using a hand crank. On the rear side of the valley there is a walled place in front of the entrance, which was covered by a two-story trench in the Contrescarpe . Access to the fort could be blocked by pulling up the massive metal floor plate with gunshot holes in the access area.

Pictures of the fortress

View from the fortress to the walled forecourt
Two-story crew casemates on the throat side
Shoulder cape and trench
Gun depot on the back of the front wall

Images of the fighting positions

Armored observation post on the forehead wall
Access to the self-rotating observation station
Ready rooms under the fighting positions

Use today

The fort has been completely preserved and is maintained and operated commercially by an association. The former accommodations have been expanded into hotel rooms, up to 100 people can be accommodated in open-plan or twin rooms. The former team canteen serves as a breakfast or party room. The facility can be visited with guides. Several historic guns are in the artillery positions, the rotating fire control station can be used. A bat reserve has been set up in a smaller part of the complex. There is now a small golf course on the former glacis.