Gütsch fortress
The fortress Gütsch (also AW Gütsch , army designation A 8685 ) is a Swiss artillery plant in the municipality of Andermatt in the canton of Uri . The fortress built in the Second World War , at that time the highest in Europe, is located at 2300 m above sea level. M. below the old Fort Stöckli .
history
The Gütsch artillery factory with its armored turret cannons played a central role as the most modern combat system in the Andermatt area. It was built for the 9th Division as a partial replacement for Fort Stöckli and the outdated armament of forts Bäzberg and Bühl .
Construction began in August 1941, the factory was ready to fire in October 1942 and the interior work was completed in June 1944. The construction costs amounted to CHF 11.6 million. The fortress could be reached by road from Nätschen or by cable car from Göschenen .
The facility was declassified in 1995.
Gütsch plant
The rock structure includes the artillery, accommodation and basic infrastructure. For external defense, external bunkers and shelters were built around the plant. Individual rifle galleries on the Gütsch date from the First World War to protect Fort Stöckli. Numerous positions and shelters were created for the anti-aircraft defense. The work was supplemented with two field positions in the direction of the Furka Pass and the Lukmanier Pass . Additional shelters (type U4, U12) were built during the Cold War .
Outside bunker east
Outside bunker south
Outside bunker west
Outside bunker west
Cable car to Göschenen
Mission and armament
The work was supposed to ensure the heavy fire all around for Gotthard Brigade 23 and work primarily in the direction of the Oberalp Pass and Lukmanier Pass .
The armament consisted of:
- three 10.5 cm armored turrets , rotatable 360 degrees, with a range of 22 km
- three double Mg external bunkers with five machine guns ( Mg 11 ) and light machine guns for external defense
- four 20mm flanges
Tower cannon 3 with Fort Stöckli in the background
10.5 cm turret cannon 3
Turret cannon 2
Tower cannon 1 next to wind turbine
Fortress Company
The plant was operated by the fortress artillery company 12/5 and the Fest Art Kp I / 5 with around 300 men.
The departmental fire control center and the departmental headquarters of Fest Abt 5 were also housed in the Gütsch.
Usage today
Weather station Gütsch ob Andermatt
Gütsch is one of the more important high alpine weather stations of MeteoSwiss . The station is particularly in the wind and regularly measures record values for Switzerland or even the entire Alpine region during westerly storms or foehn .
Gütsch wind farm
Today the Gütsch wind farm of the Ursern electricity company is also located here with four large wind turbines.
Web links
- Oberland Fortress: AW Gütsch
- Fortress Switzerland: Fortress Brigade 23: Artillery Works Gütsch
- Armasuisse: Historic military buildings UR SZ ZG
- Little porcupine: AW Gütsch UR
- Swiss cable car inventory: Göschenen-Gütsch
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gütsch ob Andermatt, station height: 2287 m above sea level. M. ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , MeteoSwiss, stations - current measurement data
Coordinates: 46 ° 39 '16.7 " N , 8 ° 36' 53.1" E ; CH1903: six hundred ninety thousand and twenty-three / 167720