Forte Airolo
Map with all coordinates: 
The Forte di Airolo , formerly Fort Fondo del Bosco , together with the Fort Hospiz, is one of the formerly important works of Swiss national defense . It is located in Switzerland in the canton of Ticino at 1300 m above sea level. M. above the village of Airolo at the south portal of the Gotthardbahn and Gotthardstrasse . Commissioned in 1889, the fort was closed as a combat facility in 1947 and converted into a museum in 1989.
history
The defense system was built from 1887 to 1890 and was considered one of the most modern fortresses in Europe at that time, among other things due to its granite cover and the latest weapons (twin guns, ball mortars, armored vehicles from Grusonwerk AG Buckau , etc.) . It is the best preserved fortress from this era in Europe.
When it became clear that the facility, which had been under construction since 1887, could not be finished in time to protect the Airolo boiler in the event of an attack, it was decided to build a temporary structure above Forte Airolo on the motto of Bartola . Construction began in 1888 and was completed in the summer of 1890, the same year as Forte Airolo.
Later, the connection to the entrance of the railway tunnel and the security system there was created with a gallery and the plant with the external facilities, flanking gallery Stuei with two 8.4 cm cannons, model 1879 and armored infantry weapon systems on the Foppahügel - for better protection of Forte Airolo - was expanded.
The obsolete fortress was closed as a Reduit combat facility in 1947 . It served as a school fortress until 1953, after which the majority of the guns and gun mounts were dismantled and melted down.
The task was taken over by the Foppa Grande fortress .
The accommodation wing is now used by the Swiss Army as a barracks , while the former combat wing has been a museum since 1989.
Order and work
The fort had the task of protecting the Gotthard tunnel opened in 1882 , the Gotthard road and the road into Val Bedretto .
The fortress was built from all over Europe according to the latest technical knowledge of the time: The plan came from the Graubünden Baron Daniel von Salis-Soglio , who was then the Austro-Hungarian general engineer inspector , the stonecutters were mainly Italian, the steel for the twin armored turret came from Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic), the weapons were manufactured in Germany while the Belgians were responsible for the arrangement of the guns.
The three-story building includes a fighting and accommodation wing and flanking galleries. It is built into the terrain, surrounded by a trench secured with three capons and covered with granite blocks one meter high. Particularly solid granite had to be brought in from the Faido and Lavorgo area first by train and then by pack animals. The round architecture required an elaborate stonemasonry, in which almost no stone is the same as another. The construction costs amounted to around 1.5 million francs.
A 1 km long tunnel leads from the plant directly to the entrance of the Gotthard railway tunnel. This would have made it possible to close the southern tunnel portal and to supply the fort from the north via the railway tunnel.
View from the Gotthard pass road
Granite cover and moat
Dig with one of the three capons
Entrance area
Ammunition magazines in the basement
Entrance of the connecting tunnel to the south portal
Armament
The initial armament consisted of two 12 cm ring barrel cannons model 1882 in a common tank turret of the Gruson system , two 12 cm ball mortars model 1888 Gruson in a tank stand, five 8.4 cm ring barrel cannons model 1880, three of which pointed towards Leventina and two towards Bedretto valley ( Passo San Giacomo ), four 5.3 cm rapid-fire cannons 1887 in Pop-up armored turrets ( fahrpanzer ), twelve 8.4 cm bronze cannons model 1871 in the three caponiers and three observation tank turrets. In 1901 the two ball mortars were replaced by two 12 cm self-propelled howitzers, model 1891.
12 cm twin ring barrel cannons model 1882, armored turret seen from the judge's room
12 cm ball mortar Grusonwerk 1888 No. 3
8.4 cm ring barrel cannon model 1880
sliding 5.3 cm armored vehicle
8.4 cm bronze cannon model 1871 in the caponier
Former ammunition elevator from the ammunition magazine to the gun rooms
Fortress Museum
The commemorative events for mobilization gave the impetus to open a fortress museum in the combat wing. Thanks to the help of active duty veterans from fortress artillery company 16 , fortress brigade 23 and members of the fortress guard corps , the museum was opened in 1989 and expanded in 1999. From the outside, this unique monument looks largely like it was when it was commissioned over 100 years ago. There are remarkable stone carvings inside. The exhibits are fortress and mobile artillery, anti-tank weapons, machine guns, anti-aircraft weapons, weapons for external defense, handguns and devices from the First and Second World Wars.
Lock point south portal
In order to defend the railway tunnel and the later motorway tunnel near Airolo, there was a blockhouse (army designation A 8309) as well as a whole complex with around forty objects, which were provided with underground passages and the connecting tunnel to Forte Airolo. In the avalanche winter of 1951 , residents of Airolo, which was buried by avalanches, were able to get to safety through the tunnel in the then still secret fortress.
1886–87 the first defense system for the railway tunnel opened in 1882 was created. For the construction of the "guard house" and the mine chamber, the south exit had to be extended and prepared for demolition in the event of war. A lattice and armored gate were built into the extended tunnel. These could be taken under fire from the flanking gallery in the eastern tunnel wall through two notches with 8.4 cm cannons on roller stools. Above today's street is the “Blockhaus” outdoor station, which is connected to the guardhouse at the tunnel entrance via a staircase.
Blockhouse above the south portal of the Gotthard Railway
Blockhouse with armored vehicle
Fortress flamethrower placed at the tunnel entrance
Association Friends of Forte Airolo
The "Friends of Forte Airolo" association was founded in 1991. Its purpose is to protect and preserve Forte Airolo as a national monument of fortress architecture.
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
- Museum: opening times and prices
- Detailed dossier about Forte Airolo (PDF)
- Underground Switzerland: Forte Airolo
- Pictures of the fort
- The connection between the rail tunnel and the Gotthard fortifications
- Forte Airolo in api3.geo.admin.ch (accessed on: May 2, 2016.)
Individual evidence
- ^ [1] Fortificazioni Ticinesi fortress trail no. 9: Object 01 Forte Airolo
- ↑ bunker friends: Equipment Airolo
- ^ Forte Airolo Association: History
Coordinates: 46 ° 31 ′ 42 " N , 8 ° 35 ′ 21" E ; CH1903: six hundred eighty-eight thousand two hundred and seventy-one / 153650