Fort Rheineck

Remains of the fort

Remains of the fort

The Fort Rheineck (original name factory Noelle head ) was part of the Prussian fortress Koblenz and belonged to the upper system Ehrenbreitstein . The plant , established in 1820, was expanded into a fort by 1880 and razed in 1927 . Only a few remnants of the wall are left of the fort in today 's Niederberg district of Koblenz . It was located in front of the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress on the mountain of the same name .

history

The system emerged from a powder magazine created in 1820, which was constantly expanded until 1831. After various renovations and extensions in the 1860s and 1870s, the facility, originally known as the Nöllenkopf plant, was named Fort Rheineck in 1880. The fort was connected to the Pleitenberg plant by a line designed for both artillery and infantry .

The engineer officers Julius Theodor Berggold and Friedrich Blecken von Schmeling were involved in the construction of the Nöllenkopf plant .

After the First World War , this complex, like the other fortress works in Koblenz , had to be softened in accordance with Article 180 of the Versailles Treaty . Far-reaching work was planned, such as the removal of the moat weir, various powder magazines and the breaching of the moat and wall. Only the wall casemate and the hangar remained excepted from the destruction. The Entfestigungsarbeiten on the extension began on March 14 and were reported completed on 30 August 1927th

The site was cleared by the French occupation army together with the Arzheimer Schanze and the Pleitenberg plant on February 11, 1928. There is only sparse information about the fate of the remains. In the middle of 1933 there was an initiative to level the remains of the fortress by the voluntary labor service . The workers were to be housed in the Ehrenbreitstein fortress during this time. Eventually, the Kettiger Tonwerke company acquired a large part of the site and began to clear the remains. However, it remains unclear what work was actually carried out. The attentive walker may still notice the remains of the wall around the former fortress grounds. Since the area has remained undeveloped as a whole, there are likely to be various remains of the plant underground.

In the 1960s, the area was still used by the Bundeswehr from the neighboring Fritsch barracks as a tank driving school area and for basic infantry training. Later, a sports field for the barracks was built in advance .

literature

• Matthias Kellermann: The Prussian fortress Koblenz and Ehrenbreitstein. On the history of the fortifications on the right bank of the Rhine , 3rd edition, Koblenz 2014. ISBN 978-3-934795-63-1 .
• Klaus T. Weber (dissertation): The Prussian fortifications of Koblenz (1815–1834) . (Series: Art and Cultural Studies Research) 2003, ISBN 3-89739-340-9
• Rüdiger Wischemann: The Koblenz Fortress. From the Roman fort and Prussia's strongest fortress to the largest garrison of the German Armed Forces , Koblenz 1978 (note: outdated in many ways, but still the best representation for an overview)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Weber, The Prussian Fortifications of Koblenz (1815–1834), page 293ff.

Coordinates: 50 ° 22 ′ 21.8 ″  N , 7 ° 36 ′ 56.5 ″  E