Kaunas Forttress

History At the end of the 18th c., when Kaunas became the border post of Russia, the Tsar decided to transform the city into a fortress, but the idea materialized only in 1871. Germany got finally united, and there was a need to strengthen the western borders of the empire. In 1880, Tsar Aleksandr II ratified the Kaunas fortress plan, covering the area of 25sq.km. The work started in 1882-89, but the construction went on until 1915. Stages of construction Construction was carried out in several stages. First, a defence circle consisting of 7 forts and 9 batteries, and central fortifications were built. Construction of administrative buildings in the city centre, reconstruction and refinement of fortifications were executed later. In 1903, construction of the 9th fort was planned, followed by the second defence circle (65 km2) in 1913-1917, the construction of which was interrupted by World War I. Fortress Characteristics The fortress consisted of forts, batteries, and the central defence system. The second group of buildings included storehouses for war ammunition, gunpowder, weapons, and spare parts, as well as bombshelters. There were also food and grain storehouses. Barracks for soldiers were built in Šančiai, Panemunė and Freda. Administrative premises were built in the centre, including a dwelling house for military engineers and a military telegraph station. Utility buildings were added: stables, garages, storehouses, and others. Lately, the fortifications have been attracting increasing numbers of tourists from Lithuania and abroad, because few defence systems have survived unchanged in Europe till now. Central fortification It consisted of a defence trench around the city with a tripple metal fence at the bottom, a rampart behind it (the trench and the rampart had a curved shape, good for shooting from the flanks), and casemate storehouses. They were located in Aleksotas, Žaliakalnis and Vilijampolė areas. In Aleksotas they ran from the funicular, across the airport, the botanical gardens, and up to the banks of the river Nemunas. In Žaliakalnis – from the 7th fort, along Taikos Ave. and the present campus of Kaunas Universitety of Technology, up to the banks of the Nemunas and Vilijampolė area with three fortification points, later the 8th fort. Defence of Forts The city was strongly fortified and ready for a long-term defence, but poor-quality ammunition and old-fashioned cannons of the Russian army were not effective. After ten days of battles, Tsarist soldiers started retreating from the city. The German army occupied Kaunas in 11 days. The fortifications were not badly damaged, and now they are accessible to visitors. History of Forts after 1919 The 9th Fort Between the two World Wars, starting with 1924, the 9th fort served as a hard labour jail. In 1941, it was a KGB prison, where people were kept before deportation to Siberia. The visiting room, the prison courtyard, wards with uplifted bunks and 3 solitary cells remind of the period. In 1941-1944, Nazis killed up to 50,000 people (30,000 Jews, 10,000 foreigners from West Europe and from various parts of Russia) in the 9th fort. In 1959, a museum was opened here, and in 1984, the memorial was completed. It consists of the administration building, a new museum, the old fort with its wards and tunnels, and the monument to the 9th fort victims close to the field of death. The monument is 30 m tall. 

Contacts
Adresas: Žemaičių pl. 73, LT-47435, Kaunas.
Tel.: (8 ~ 37) 37 77 50, (8 ~ 37) 37 77 48.
Tel./faksas (8 ~ 37) 37 77 15.
El. paštas: jurate.zakaite9fortomuziejus.lt
http://www.9fortomuziejus.lt/