Fort # 5 description and photo - Russia - Baltic: Kaliningrad (Topic)

Fort # 5 description and photos - Russia - Baltic States: Kaliningrad. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

One of the branches of the Regional History and Art Museum is located in a picturesque place on the outskirts of Kaliningrad and is a brick and concrete fortification built in the nineteenth century.

Fort No. 5, named after King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm III (who headed the state during the war with Napoleon), was part of the Konigsberg military structure and belonged to the Konigsberg Night Feather ring.

The structure has the shape of a hexagon, surrounded by a moat with water, a massive stone wall and an earthen rampart. The moat is equipped with trenches, firing positions for flamethrowers, machine guns, mortars and artillery pieces. The fort was connected with the adjacent territory by a drawbridge. For the purpose of camouflage, the structure was planted with trees and bushes. In 1886, the military structure was additionally covered with two-meter reinforced concrete, and a rotating observation dome was built. Before the assault on Konigsberg, the fort was additionally fortified: anti-tank ditches were dug on the flanks, gaps were installed, the entire adjacent space was mined and shrouded in barbed wire. During the prolonged assault on the fort by Soviet troops, an artillery gun of special power was used, which led to a victory and significant destruction of the structure. For the blockade and capture of Fort No. 5 in April 1945, fifteen Soviet officers and soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1979, the ruins of Fort No. 5 were transferred to the Kaliningrad Regional History and Art Museum. In 2001, a museum of fortifications and military equipment was opened on the territory of the fort. Nowadays, on the territory of the historical building there are: a war memorial in honor of Soviet soldiers who died during the assault and an exposition of military equipment, where Soviet cannons, Katyushas, torpedoes, depth charges and a deck gun are presented.

In the vicinity of the military building, historical reconstructions are carried out annually, simulating the assault on Konigsberg. Fort No. 5 is an object of cultural heritage (federal significance).

We also recommend reading Church of the Holy Spirit (Kostol Ducha Svateho) description and photos - Slovakia: Bratislava

Topic: Fort # 5 description and photo - Russia - Baltic: Kaliningrad.