Prussian Star Forts in the 18th Century - Grzegorz Bukal
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F ORT • VOLUME 39 • 2011
Prussian Star Forts in the 18th Century
Grzegorz Bukal
Introduction
In the first half of the 18th century, tenailled star forts were
built in the approaches of some Prussian fortresses such as
Magdeburg, Stettin (Szczecin), Glogau (Glogów), Neisse
(Nysa), Glatz (Klodzko) Schweidnitz (Świdnica).
Due to the circumstances of their coming into being and
certain similarities between them, they may be considered
a very interesting and original phenomenon in the history
of European military engineering. Despite the fact that
only three of them have survived within the present
borders of Poland, they have never been as a group an
object of serious historical or architectural research, either
by German or Polish architectural historians. This article
is based on the author’s researches carried out in the
1990s.1
Tenaille Fortification
The tenailled trace as a base for the construction of star
forts is a line of walls formed in a zigzag. If the general
outline of a fortification was to be enclosed in a circle, the
shape resembled a star or a gearwheel.
The tenailled trace was certainly well-known and
applied already by the 16th century. In spite of its merits it
never gained such popularity and admiration as the
bastioned trace. It was employed in smaller or less
important fortifications, or as a part of larger defensive
systems.
The merits of a tenailled system were flexibility,
Tenaille fortification (Mallet, A M 1684 Les travaux de Mars
simplicity and the lower costs of construction. The full ou l’art de la guerre)
cross-fire defence resulted in theoretical elimination of
dead ground. inadequate because of blind spots at the foot of a rampart.
But there were also serious faults in a tenaille Besides, it was often difficult to design a trace in such a
fortification. Tenailles were vulnerable to enfilade; way that the functional dimensions of the tenaille and
entrenched enemy enfilading batteries, shooting from long salient angles could be achieved. Perhaps tenaille
range, could not be reached and destroyed by the fire of fortification was also perceived as less scientific, elaborate
the defenders’ batteries located on the neighbouring or even ornate, and accordingly remote from the aesthetic
tenaille (or the side of the zigzag). Moreover, shooting preferences of people of the Renaissance and Baroque.
along the face of a neighbouring tenaille was troublesome However, tenaille fortification was treated with
because gunbarrels had to be pointed obliquely to the line seriousness by many authors and practitioners of the time.
of the parapet. Also the conditions for pursuing close Its variations were remarked, described or proposed by
defence or fire from banquettes might have been different writers as e.g: A. di Pietro Averlino-Filarete
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(Sforzinda, ca. 1460), G. Alghisi da Carpi, J. W. Dilich in New York, 1812, which later became the platform for
(1640), J. B. Scheither (1672), G. Rimpler (1674), J. H. D. the Statue of Liberty). In field fortification different
Landsberg ‘The Younger’ (1712), L. Ch. Sturm (1719), tenaille fortifications and star works were always in
and others. Some engineers (for instance at Wu”“rzburg, common use, both in theory and practice.
Mainz, 1640-70s2) and theoreticians tried to combine the The star forts which are the subject of this text
tenaille and bastioned fortification into one coherent represented a sort of detached fort, located singly on the
system.3 In practice tenaille fortification was frequently approaches to fortresses, in order to occupy and protect
and according to need, merged with bastioned systems. potentially hazardous positions.
From the 16th and until the 19th century tenailled works
seem to have been regarded as something between square ‘The Iron Mask’ of Frederick the Great
redoubts and small bastioned works, and constructed The history of Prussian fortification is traditionally
where there was no need or possibility to apply more divided into two epochs: the Old Prussian (Altpreussische
complicated bastioned structures, and where ordinary Befestigung) (prior to 1815) and the New Prussian,
square redoubts would not provide adequate protection.4 (Neupreussische Befestigung) developed in the first half
Complete, regular tenailled enceintes of fortresses were of the 19th century (until the 1860s). The transitional
rare (eg Hanau, ca 1633, Fredriksvern, 1670s). Permanent period between 1786 and 1815, which we may call ‘Post-
star works were also rare but we can meet them in various Frederician’, was a time of wars, research, and gaining
places (e.g Castel Sant’Elmo in Naples, 1547; Fort St. experience.5
Elmo in Valetta, ca 1570; Kongsvinger, 1682; Fort Wood The epoch of the Old Prussian fortification was
dominated by two strong personalities so distinctly, that it
seems sensible to make another division and establish two
main periods, ie the Walrave period (app 1720-47) and the
Frederician period, from 1747 till the King’s death in
1786.
The years immediately preceding the full political
emancipation of Prussia in1701 were also the period of an
impact of new ideas in fortification design. The older and
the newer Dutch traditions were confronted with French
concepts, probably brought to Prussia by Huguenot
refugees after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in
1685. In this way prominent military engineers, such as
Dupuy, de Corbin, Pierre de Montargues (1660-1733) or
Jean de Bodt (1670-1745)6 had made their careers in the
Prussian army in the beginning of the 18th century.
Moreover, the new state needed and attracted – as did
Russia at the same time, during its period of developing
civilisation – capable and enterprising people, who had
not found their chance in Old Europe. One of them was the
originator of Prussian fortification – Gerhard Cornelius
Walrave (1692-1773).7 His astonishing career, worthy of
Dumas’s imagination, was set in motion by the
reconstruction of Prussian military power undertaken by
Frederick William I.
Gerhard Cornelius Walrave was born in 1692 in
Warendorf, near Münster in Westphalia. In 1708 he found
himself under Dutch command, following his father who
Tenaille fortification (Dilich, J W 1640 Peribologia...) had been serving with the Dutch as a military engineer. In
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1710 both men took part in the siege of Douai in Flanders Brieg (Brzeg), Glatz, Glogau, Kosel (Koźle), Neisse,
under Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau, commander of Schurgast, Schweidnitz. During the Czech Campaign of
the Prussian troops. In 1715, in obscure circumstances, but 1744-5 Walrave successfully commanded the attack on
undoubtedly thanks to Prince Leopold’s favour, young Prague.
Walrave joined the Prussian army with the rank of However, late in the year 1745 good fortune deserted
Captain. He was sent to Magdeburg, governed and at the Walrave. The rate of progress in construction works in
time being completely refortified by Prince Leopold. As Silesia gave rise to Frederick’s discontent. At the same
early as in 1718, Walrave was assigned to design and time, there appeared accusations of embezzlement. They
conduct works in Magdeburg and after 1720 in newly were immediately associated with Walrave’s bizarre
fortified Stettin. ‘baroque’, catholic-libertine personality and way of life. In
To exactly what this young and still unknown man owed this regard his mentality seems to have been much closer
such a responsible position remains a mystery. It is to the mentality of a mercenary officer of the Thirty Years’
possible his career started simply thanks to the death of the War than that of a well-drilled, Frederician ‘knight-
previous builder of fortifications in Magdeburg in 1718.8 official’. His lifestyle led him to debts and finally to
We cannot ascertain whether the reason was a simple bankruptcy in 1747.
scarcity of engineers in the Prussian service,9 their But the worst was still to come. In the face of financial
insufficient competence or personal regard. Pierre de difficulties, Walrave was to make close contacts with
Montargues, Walrave’s formal predecessor, was in the envoys of Austria, Saxony and Russia. We will probably
1720s an old man, but the career of Jean de Bodt might never know whether he only intended to find buyers for his
have been intentionally stopped, and then he left Prussia in collection of works of art or to escape to Austria with a
1728. Against such a background the newcomer, even if collection of plans of Prussian fortresses. Yet, it seems
very young and rather inexperienced, could have appeared unbelievable that he did not realize that he had been under
to be a promising personality. constant surveillance.
Successful activity during the next few years brought In February 1748, Walrave was seized on suspicion of
him both prestige and prosperity. In 1724 Walrave was embezzlement and treason. After a secret investigation,11
ennobled, and in 1729 promoted to the rank of Colonel in spite of rumours that the treason had never been proved,
and assigned to position of Chief of the newly formed with no court case, and only on the strength of Frederick’s
Engineer Corps! So, he became not only the most decision (and perhaps with irony), Walrave was
important person in the Prussian engineering service but imprisoned for life in Magdeburg, in Fort Berge – the first
also a real monopolist. He was the designer and supervisor star fort he had designed and built. Being imprisoned in
at Magdeburg, Stettin, Minden, Wesel, Pillau and Kehl. In strict solitary confinement, he went insane and died after
1733, before the outbreak of the War of the Polish 25 years in 1773.
Succession, he was sent to assist prominent imperial
engineers in the defence of the western border of Walrave’s manner of fortification
Germany. The results of Walrave’s activity in Mainz and As a military engineer Walrave was a creative practitioner.
Philippsburg were some new works10 typical of his style. The only work he ever wrote ‘Memoire sur l’attaque et la
As with many military engineers of the time in the defense des places’ (1747), was commissioned by the
initial period of his career Walrave was also active as King and has never been published.12
civilian architect in Magdeburg and Stettin where he gave Even if the term ‘system’ would be somewhat
unquestionable proof of his talent and skill. exaggerated to describe his way of designing defences, we
Frederick II’s accession to the throne in 1740 opened a cannot ignore the originality and recurrence of elements
new chapter in Walrave’s biography. In 1741, after the first and their combinations. At the roots of Walrave’s ‘manner’
Prussian successes in Silesia, he was promoted to Major- were new-Dutch fortifications of Coehoorn, elements of
General and soon awarded the order ‘pour le mérite’. Vauban’s systems and German fortification of the 17th
Since then, in accordance with the monarch’s priorities, century, (e.g. Dilich, Rimpler, Landsberg) or others,
Walrave’s task was to direct the modernization and assuming such suppositions to be sensible.
construction of Silesian fortresses Breslau (Wroclaw), In spite of the different variations, the features of
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Walrave’s ‘manner’ were distinct in various main parts of Forts in the immediate approaches, located directly in
fortifications. front of the enceinte were constructed as bastioned or
tenailled structures. Walrave built such forts at Stettin
Fronts were bastioned, in the case of the exterior (Leopold and Wilhelm). The concept was probably
enceintes of Magdeburg or Stettin, tenailled in the case of inspired by such popular outworks as horn- and
the enceinte of Cosel which was the only new complete crownworks. (Similar forts were built by Nijmegen in the
fortress Walrave had opportunity to design and build. The second part of the 17th century.) Two forts of this type
tenaille enceinte of the new part of Brieg, situated on the (Welsch and Clairfait) were built at Mainz ca 1736,
right side of the Oder was never built. Sometimes the presumably to Walrave’s theories.14 Another one was
fronts were to be bastion-tenaille combinations (eg planned or even built at Peitz
Minden).
So called ‘envelopes’ or systems of outworks enclosed
Detached forts were designed as tenaille star works, with the enceintes of all modernized or extended fortresses or
included bastioned parts. Apart from the forts which are their parts as at Wesel,15 Philippsburg,16 Mainz
the main subject of this paper, Walrave was to expand a (Gartenfeldfront),17 Neisse, Glogau, Brieg etc. They,
detached star sea-fort at Peenemünde (Peenemünder according to situation, consisted of multiplied
Schanze) on Usedom Island.13 counterguards, ravelins, lunettes, glacis, ditches etc.
Minden, unexecuted design for a bridgehead. Walrave, 1729. (SBB III C Kart. X 30239/2)
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Plan of Cosel (c1780) showing the tenailled enceinte. (SBB III C Kart. X 28150/1)
To construct all these types of defensive structures – Walrave applied such a bastion only twice – at Glatz
including star forts – Walrave based his ideas on a constant and Peitz. In both cases the bastion was situated as a single
set of elements. element between two tenailles, similar to what Coehoorn
had done with his ravelins with broken flanks and as it was
Bastions were of two types: Type I was a sophisticated, done later in the polygonal system.19
detached structure – perhaps of Walrave’s own The revêtments of the scarps were low (demi-
construction – with curved flanks and inner ditch cutting revêtment), well-covered with mounds of earth.
off the gorge. Similar bastions, however without an inner Counterscarps of the main ditch were sometimes equipped
ditch, were built at Bergen op Zoom and Maastricht and with narrow galleries leading to counterscarp-caponiers.
they could have inspired Walrave. The works of this type
were built at Magdeburg, Stettin and perhaps Peitz. One Tenailled fronts, fully developed, were mostly arranged
bastion of this sort was built in the exterior enceinte of in envelopes built around various older fortresses. In
Mainz ca 1736, perhaps following Walrave’s ideas. In general, Walrave used two patterns:
every case these bastions were elements of outworks. Type I was built after Coehoorn’s manner, of separated
Type II was a bastion with broken flanks. This type works as counterguards and ravelins. The ravelins
might have been copied from original bastions which had consisted of two separate parts – the tenaille reduit and the
been built in the middle of the 17th century in Mainz and counterguard.
Würzburg.18 Type II was a classic envelope or a continuous
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counterguard. Sometimes, both types were used
simultaneously, forming – with a covered way – multiple
lines of defence (eg Wesel). Such envelopes were
equipped with places of arms with tambours, blockhouses
and traverses. They were surrounded by a countersloping
glacis, allegedly called in the Prussian army ‘the Walrave
Profile’ (‘Walravesches Profil’)20 – which was however, in
later years usually replaced with a ditch and revetted
counterscarp.
All of this, along with a variety of outworks such as
ravelins, lunettes etc. arranged mainly after Vauban and
Coehoorn, produced – possibly along with a developed
system of countermine-galleries – a large, complicated
structure in which the envelope with the covered way was
the most important part, as confirmed by Frederick
himself in his Military Testament from 1768.21 The
greatest advantage of such an arrangement seems to have
been the depth of the defence and mutual protection of
numerous works. The drawback of such a labyrinth was,
inevitably, difficult communication – which was the
common flaw of many fortifications of the time.
In order to improve the defence of the ditch in the
tenailled forts at Neisse, Minden and Schurgast,
faussebraies had been planned, yet only that at the fort at
Neisse was built. Other constant elements of Walrave’s
fortification used for this purpose were fire galleries,
reverse fire galleries, and counterscarp-caponiers.
Reduits
In the star forts of Magdeburg and Glatz, Walrave built
multistorey reduits. In an early version of the design of the
fort at Stettin he also planned a similar reduit as it had
been built in Magdeburg. In at least two fortresses large,
casemated redoubts were built (Neisse) or planned
(Schweidnitz). Walrave planned also reduits for other
places.22
After Walrave’s fall from grace nobody else reached a
similar position. It seems probable that soon after his
imprisonment Walrave had officially fallen into oblivion,
and henceforth most of his achievements and ideas were
credited to Frederick himself. Walrave’s successor was his
collaborator Colonel Philipp Lothar von Seers (1700-67)
who ended his career as an Austrian POW in 1758. From
then on, Frederick kept total, meticulous control over all
Plan of Magdeburg. Walrave, 1740. (SBB III C Kart. X 29089)
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fortification matters and even the corps of engineers had the chronologically closer mountain-fortifications popular
no formal chief until his death. in France, Savoy or Piedmont in the 17th and 18th century.
The often repeated view about Frederick’s authorship of In the following years, the new fortress at Graudenz
the Prussian fortifications can be justified to a considerable (Grudzi?dz) (1776-88) was shaped like a tenailled, fully
degree by having regard to the ruling position of the King. casemated half-star, surrounded with detached bastions,
In a technical sense, before 1748 Frederick could have ravelins and lunettes. The last fortress designed according
probably been only Walrave’s able apprentice and it was to this tendency was probably L?czyca in central Poland,
only after 1747 that circumstances forced the monarch to started, but never completed in the late 1790s.
take up the position of chief of his engineers. The new enterprises in Silesia promoted a few able men
In the years 1747-63 the Silesian fortresses were such as Franz Ignatz von (de) Pinto (1725-88), Ludwig
extended more or less following Walrave’s concepts. Wilhelm Regler (1726-92), Paul von Gontzenbach (?-
However, after the Seven Years’ War, the style of 1799) and Heinrich von der Lahr (1734-1816).24
fortification changed. The fortresses in Silesia – still being It seems that the construction of the fortress at Graudenz
of the utmost importance – were transformed, according to initiated the comeback of bastioned, post-Vauban forms.
Frederick’s Military Testament of 1768. The growing role Such bastioned works, along with new polygonal
of artillery in defence caused the construction of large solutions, inspired by works of Montalembert, began to be
casemated batteries, shelters (Neisse, Schweidnitz and designed in the end of the 18th century in existing as well
Breslau), and huge multistorey ‘donjons’. They were as in planned fortresses (eg Warsaw, gained by Prussia
erected in the newly built, odd fortress at Silberberg23 after the third partition of Poland in 1795).
(Srebrna Góra) (1763-77), called by the Prussians ‘The
Silesian Gibraltar’ and in Glatz (ca. 1770-4), the only The Forts
mountain-fortresses in the possession of Prussia. The Fort Berge at Magdeburg
source of this tendency was certainly the fortifications of When Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau was appointed
the Renaissance, developed in Italy and south Germany and the Governor of Magdeburg in 1702, the town had been
Plans of Fort Berge. Unknown author. (Details of: Riksarkiv Stockholm – Krigsarkivet, 0406:25:160:006, redrawn by author)
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undergoing a transformation into the strongest fortress of roofed over with a pointed arch tunnel vault of app. 11,4m
Prussia since 1680.25 As early as 1718 Walrave was span. The interior was three-storey, divided by wooden
charged with the task of conducting the works. Walrave floors. Each floor had windows (loopholes) facing the
designed a new, polygonal bridgehead ‘Turmschanze’ on courtyard. The vaults were as usual covered with a thick
the right bank of the Elbe and then Fort Berge, and ca mound with banquette and parapet.
1723, the colossal exterior enceinte. All these defences The reduit was surrounded with a ditch and a massive,
were carried out according to his own concepts. Only earthen, revetted envelope with places d’armes – and then
Turmschanze was designed in a manner close to Vauban’s with a countersloping glacis and covered way. The
‘second system’, ie with round towers and detached envelope was equipped with a fire gallery. The
bastions. countermine system was never carried out. The northern
The fort was located on the left bank of the river, above front of the envelope was pierced by a postern. This only
the southern approach of the town, in the neighbourhood gate to the fort was called The Stargate (‘Sterntor’). Its
of the Berge Monastery. The work began in 1721 and was exterior face was formed in a typical way, with a one-
completed in 1731. opening triumphal arch, abundantly decorated with
The core of the fort26 was a massive star-shaped reduit sculptured military paraphernalia.27 The only road to the
with a courtyard inside. It was built of brick and stone, fort led from the north. In spite of what is assumed to be
with walls of app. 3.4 – 4.4m in thickness and entirely Walrave’s and later Frederick’s intention, Fort Berge was
Plan of Fort Berge in
Magdeburg. (Detail
of SBB III C Kart. X
29089)
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Section through the reduit and gate of Fort Berge. (Detail of 0406:25:160:006, redrawn by author)
never connected to the town28 – probably because of the In the beginning of the1870s, Fort Berge was much
general location of the fort, close to the new, well-fortified modified, reduced by half and merged in the newly-built
part of town works. In the first decades of the 19th century, enceinte. Soon after the fortress had lost its importance,
a new fort (Fort Scharnhorst) was built in the north, close the enceinte was sold to the town and eventually
to Fort Berge. demolished, as was Fort Berge itself after 1904. Valuable
We have no hard evidence as to where exactly the masonry from the Stargate was carried to Berlin.
artillery in the fort was mounted. So according to the
principles of defence and construction of star works, we Fort Preussen at Stettin
may assume that cannons of different types could have Stettin,29 the historical capital of Pomerania, was built on
been situated in the gun emplacements of the reduit and on the western bank of the Oder, close to its mouth, where the
the envelope. These cannon positions seem to have been river opens into the bay. The town centre extends along a
changeable, their fire could have been directed all around. post-glacial ridge, app 25m above the river. In the
The manning of Fort Berge is unknown. beginning of the 18th century the town was enclosed by a
The effectiveness of Fort Berge was never tested in ring of walls, wide ditches and bastioned fortifications. On
siege warfare. The only opportunity for defence was lost the opposite river bank lay weakly-fortified wharves.
in November 1806, when Magdeburg manned by 24,000 In the middle of the 17th century the Swedes, who had
men surrendered without a fight to 7,000 French taken control of Pomerania in 1648, were making plans
cavalrymen. for new large fortifications on the south-western
Unexecuted design for a refortification of Stettin showing bastions of the I type and four-arm star fort. Walrave, c1723. (MNS-H
Kart. 482)
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Walrave’s bastioned front. (Unidentified plan from authors collection)
approaches, but eventually they only built a short front of of the exterior enceinte into the concept of forts to be built
three earthen bastions and a small earthen star work around the town. The earliest variant of 172331 shows some
situated on a plateau, dominating this foreground. similarities with the fortifications of Mainz, or the system
The Prussians took Stettin from the Swedes in 1713, and of forts (lunettes) which had been built by Maximilian von
made the first plans for new fortifications in 1715.30 Welsch after 1713. Walrave planned to situate one of his
However, serious activity can have started no earlier than lunettes in the place where the Swedes had built their star
the beginning of the 1720s, when the political situation work and Fort Preussen was later built. The next variant32
cleared up following the Peace of Nystadt in 1721. The was almost a copy of Magdeburg’s new enceinte with a
solution to the refortifying of Stettin developed by Walrave smaller replica of Fort Berge situated in the location of the
between 1723 and 1728 interestingly evolved from the idea later Fort Preussen. In the third variant33 three large
hornwork-like forts were to be built in the approaches; the
greatest one, as in the previous variants, in the location of
the Swedish starwork. The two smaller ones recalled the
‘forts’ of Nijmegen which could have been known to
Walrave. At last, by 1728 the final concept had been
worked out, and after that the fortifications of Stettin were
to consist of the modified enceinte, two forts, before the
northern and western front, and a single, large five-pointed
star fort to the southwest. Meanwhile another plan with
four-pointed star was prepared.
This star fort – later called Fort Preussen – was built
between 1729-34. The building in Stettin was formally
supervised by Walrave, but he was able to be there only
occasionally, so the actual supervisor was Major von Prew.
Plan of the star fort. (Detail of MNS-H Kart. 482) Von Seers and another of Walrave’s subordinates,
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11. Unexecuted design
for a refortification of
Stettin. Drawn by Lt.
Wulff, probably after
Walrave, c1724.
S – Swedish star work.
(SBB III C Kart. X
34060)
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Plan of Stettin, c1740.
(SBB III C Kart. X
34065-3)
Unexecuted design for a new fort at Stettin. Walrave, c1723.
(MNS-H Kart. 489)
Friedrich Christian von Wrede (1701-?) who closely
cooperated with Walrave in the following years, were also
engaged in the construction works in Stettin.
In plan, Fort Preussen was a regular, pentagonal star,
formed by a wide rampart. The star was surrounded with
a ditch and an envelope with ravelins and then another
ditch and countersloping glacis. The ravelins consisted of
two separate parts – the reduit and the counterguard. The
main rampart and the works of the envelope were revetted.
It is certain that no casemates – except for a few small
rooms (powder-magazine or workshops) – were built in
the fort. A few large powder-magazines were probably
built in the ravelins. The fort had no countermine system.
The main rampart was pierced by the posterns situated
on the axes of the ravelins, providing access to the ditch.
Fort Preussen had no fortified connection with the
town’s enceinte.34 The only way to the fort – an avenue
lined with linden trees, running from the Berlin Gate of
the town – led through the northern ravelin. The gates in
the ravelin and the rampart were just cuts in the
embankments, marked only by decorated stone pillars.
The rampart and the ravelin were connected by a
drawbridge – the only device of this kind in the fort.
The brick used for construction came either from the
demolished defensive walls of the town or from new
brickworks erected on the construction site. The masonry
was sandstone.
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No certain data about the actual armament of Fort empty interior of the fort craft workshops, barracks and
Preussen is known. We can only assume, reading from the depots. From then on, Fort Preussen was to be a new
1728 design drawing where the diagram of fire-range is military district of Stettin, and – in fact – a small, separate
marked, that the cannons were to be situated on the fortress.
rampart, the ravelins and the counterguards. The number The basis for such a function was the remote location of
of pieces on the fort could have potentially amounted to the fort. Without a permanent garrison and local supplies
app 200, as one might conclude from the length of the gun it would have been too vulnerable to attack, being too far
emplacements. from the fortress.
The manning of the fort during peace-time was The pentagonal area within the enceinte of the fort was
originally to consist of 4 officers, 12 NCOs, 3 drummers to be regularly divided into ten parts surrounding a large
and 200 privates. piazza, according to the principles of baroque urbanism.
As early as 1734, a decision was made to build in the The buildings were designed to a standard type or even
Fort Preussen in
Stettin, 1733.
(Detail of SBB
III C Kart. X
34065-4)
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to be identical, in brick- or framework construction, with The enlargement of the enceinte of the town in the mid-
proportioned façades and ridge roofs covered with tiles. nineteenth-century resulted in transformation of the west
Private houses were to be equipped with strong vaulted front of Fort Preussen. Now the defence was opened to the
cellars serving both as store and shelter. rear and could not be used against the town.
Yet, due to unforeseen problems, only a few craftsmen In 1872 the fortress was abandoned and no later than the
decided to settle in the fort, and finally only four of the ten 1880s the fortifications of Fort Preussen were completely
planned quarters were built. demolished.
During the Seven Years’ War Stettin happily avoided
warfare, and the only defences that seem to be have been Fort Stern at Glogau
erected during the war were lunettes built on the The first Silesian city that Frederick came across during
approaches to the town and the fort. his march in 1740 was Glogau.35 This former capital of the
In the late 1760s an impressive idea – its author was Duchy of Glogovia extends along the western bank of the
Lieutenant-Colonel d’Heintze – for strengthening the Oder app 10m above a large flood plain. Opposite the
fortifications of Stettin and particularly Fort Preussen with town, between two converging arms of the river and in the
new, colossal permanent works took shape. Yet, it was marsh lies an island called Dom – Cathedral Isle.
rejected by Frederick because of its expected cost. In the second half of the 17th century Glogau was
As far as we know, Fort Preussen was never directly enclosed with bastioned fortifications. In the 1730s they
employed in warfare. In 1806 Stettin surrendered to a few were still incomplete. The island was surrounded
French hussars. In 1813 the fortress was retaken after a by irregular bastioned fortifications.
nine months’ blockade. The Prussians conquered the fortress in mid-March
Plan of Glogau (1787) showing Fort Stern with the circular casemate. (Detail of SBB III C Kart. X 25135/12)
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Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
1741, after a three-months’ siege. Though necessary Saxony. The design and construction work on the
repairs were undertaken immediately to enable the fortress fortifications were carried on over the following years.
to be safe from sudden attack, regular works were started The designer and supervisor was Walrave. The bastioned
a year later, before the peace with Austria in July 1742. enceinte of the town was modified and strengthened by
Glogau was intended to continue its function as an new ravelins and a covered way.
important fortress protecting Prussian Silesia from The weakest point of the fortress was its riverside. In the
Plan of Glogau, c1750. Fort Stern at an early stage. (SBB III C Kart. X 25133/1)
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Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
late 16th century the old river bed running along below the have amounted to app. 50–60. During wartime the Stern
eastern front of the town turned into a shallow flood plain would supposedly have been manned by app 300 men.
and the river found a new bed further to the east. Since In the late 1780s, there was a plan to built two new,
then, the old river-bed could no longer be considered a real large outworks on the heights situated on the west and
obstacle. Nevertheless, nothing was done to solve the north approaches to Glogau. These works, along with Fort
problem in Habsburg times. Stern and the modified fortifications of Cathedral Isle,
In 1743 the old and the new river beds were connected would have created a new ring around the fortress. Yet this
by a canal, which was modified in 1748 and reinforced plan was never carried out and newer outworks were built
with a system of sluices. This enabled both defence and no earlier than the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Since the
navigation; one has to remember that the Oder was the 1850’s the Stern had continued to be connected with the
most important waterway from Silesia to the Baltic Sea. town fortifications. The fort was reduced to a short
Fort Stern was built between 1742 and 1744 on the southern front of the enlarged enceinte in the 1870’s. Only
height called Schwalm Berg, situated to the south of the the casemate and a piece of altered rampart survive today
town, above a stream flowing into the river. The situation in their original condition.
and function of Fort Stern were quite similar to those of Though Glogau was besieged twice during the
Fort Berge or Fort Preussen in Stettin. In addition, the fort Napoleonic Wars – by the French in November 1806, as
was to protect some mills and a huge provisions depot. well as the Russian and Prussian forces (February 1813 –
In its initial form, the Stern was a large, separate, star April 1814) we have no information on its rôle or value.
earthwork, irregular in plan, surrounded by a narrow ditch
and a covered way. Yet, in the years 1747-9 the store was Fort Preussen at Neisse
moved into a new magazine complex within the enceinte, Neisse,36 the seat of an historic bishopric, is situated on the
and the structure itself was transformed into a strong fort. flat, swampy bottom of the wide valley of the River
The outline of the work was changed so as to be open to Neisse. The river flows along the north-west side of the
the rear. The rampart was thickened and certainly town. The north riverside bank rises to reach – after
heightened to enable artillery emplacement. several hundred meters – a ridge of app. 30m above the
A large brick barrack-casemate for 200 men was built in town.
the courtyard. It was circular in plan, one-storey, vaulted In the first half of the eighteenth century Neisse was
by a tunnel vault of app. 5.0m span and covered by a surrounded by bastioned fortifications of old-Dutch type,
mound which formed the upper level of the courtyard. The with a wide moat and an envelope, and most importantly,
casemate had three entrances and windows in the front by large inundations.
wall. Its façade probably had no decoration. The fort was Neisse was as important for Maria Theresa as it was for
connected with the enceinte by a short stretch of a covered Frederick, who considered the fortress an ideal base for
way. In the 1780s a short countermine-system was both defensive and offensive operations against the
probably extended out from the Stern. Austrians in Moravia and Bohemia.
The possible number of heavy guns in the fort could The problem of Neisse as a fortified place was the ridge
overlooking the town. The Prussians obviously used it to
position their artillery in January 1741. The bombardment
– for the lack of heavy cannons – brought no effect and
Frederick gained Neisse in November through diplomatic
measures. However, it was clear that the site is remarkably
weak and liable to attack, and it would be necessary not
only to refortify the existing layout but also to build new
defensive structures above the town. Yet the desire to keep
Neisse in his possession determined all of Frederick’s
decisions, despite warnings from such prominent officers
as General-Field- Marshals Curt Christoph von Schwerin
Fort Stern. The elevation of the casemate.(Grzegorz Bukal) and Samuel von Schmettau, and even Walrave who
21
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
Primary design for a new fort by Neisse, with Frederick’s
handwritten approval from 20 Sept. 1742. (Österreichisches
Staatsarchiv, Abt. Kriegsarchiv, Wien, K II f48-45)
cautioned the young monarch about the hazardous
location, and proposed that a new fortress be built
elsewhere.37
By the middle of 1743, at least three variants for the
upper fortifications were prepared. In each one the main
structure was a huge star fort. In the earliest variant from
174238 the fort was planned as a great, six-pointed star but
it was ultimately designed and built as a smaller, five-
pointed star. In every variant the fort was to be connected
with other fortifications by lines of ramparts and
accompanied with a small four-pointed star work.
The author was Walrave but we cannot exclude active
participation by Frederick, who personally laid the
foundation stone on 30 May1743.39
The work, supervised by Major Rottengatter was
completed in 1745. Walrave was responsible to the King
for the entire operation in Silesia, being also the
commander of the 49th Infantry Regiment of miners and
pioneers. This special unit was based in Neisse, and had
been established as early as the autumn of 1741 in order to
be employed in works on the Silesian fortifications.
Fort Preussen was located on the ridge – where
Frederick’s guns had been located in 1741 – app 800m to
the north-west from the town fortifications. It was the only
one among all Prussian star forts that was intended to be a
citadel and could have been used against the town itself.
The fragment of the sentence engraved on the foundation
plate was likely as follows: ‘Diese Schanze ist das Symbol
einer Lehrkanzel, von der das kanonische Recht des
Königs verkündet wird…’ (‘This work symbolizes a pulpit
from which the Canon Law of the King is to be
preached…’).40 (The author of the sentence is unknown,
though this sort of black humour and ‘poetic spirit’ could
indicate Frederick himself.) have no loopholes. The windows are quite large, and they
The core of the fort is a regular, five-pointed star work were probably never equipped with shutters, so the
with a wide, two-level rampart. A pentagonal courtyard was building was more of a shelter than a defensive structure.
enclosed by two-storey casemates built in the rampart. This Each of the identical wings has a façade of nine bays
structure itself may be perceived as a sort of great reduit. with a central entrance. The southern wing was pierced by
The casemates are vaulted by tunnel vaults of 6.2m span the postern leading outwards to the gate. From the
and covered by the mound or the upper artillery platform. courtyard the postern is marked by two massive buttresses.
The lower parts of thick walls were made of stone, the Thanks to their good proportions and the slope of the
upper of brick. The floors, the structure of the internal walls the façades seem monumental despite their small
buildings and the staircases were made of wood. height.
The casemates were barracks and magazines. The walls Facings of red brick to the upper storey make a sharp
22
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
Section through Fort Preussen. (Reconstruction
by the author after Wagner. Op. cit.)
23
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
24
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
Plan of Neisse, showing the fortified town, Fort Preussen and
Friedrichsstadt within new-planned, unexecuted fortifications.
c1745. (SBB III C Kart. X 31027)
contrast with white stone facings of the ground floor.
White, smooth, carefully elaborated masonry contrasts
with rough surfaces of stone and brick. The walls are
crowned with an austere brick and stone cornice and a
high green cap of sod. The austere beauty of this
architecture is undeniable.
The original entrance to the fort fell into dilapidation
due to the alterations carried out in the 19th century. It is
possible that the keystone bearing the inscription ‘FR
Anno 1744’, now built into the well casemate in the
courtyard once crowned the main gate. The original
construction of the gate and its defensive devices is
unknown.
The star was surrounded with a ditch and an envelope
built, as usual, of counterguards and ravelins, and then
with a countersloping glacis. Two of five ravelins were
tenaille-shaped. The envelope has counterscarp-caponiers
connected by communication galleries. A countermine
system accessible from the envelope surrounded outer
fronts of the fort.
Plan of casemates and countermines of Fort Preussen, c1790.
(Unidentified plan from author’s collection)
25
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
Reconstruction of the fort. (Grzegorz Bukal, after: K II f 48-45)
The only way to the fort leads through the south-eastern
ravelin. The straight road that connects Fort Preussen and
the town today was to be the axis of the truly baroque
composition of the new town of Friedrichsstadt. Similarly
to Fort Preussen in Stettin it was to be a base for the entire
fortress. Yet, it was never developed and eventually became
a desolate area with some houses and a large complex of
barracks. Fort Preussen was connected to the fortifications
of the town with two permanent lines of defence situated
Fort Preussen. The
inner facade of the
main gate.
(Grzegorz Bukal)
Fort Preussen. View
from the water
tower, showing the
gorge of the fort –
transformed in the
19th century and
then the original
courtyard.
(Grzegorz Bukal)
26
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
20. Fort Preussen. (Detail of
SBB III C Kart. X 31027)
Fort Preussen. Detail of the
façade of the casemates.
(Grzegorz Bukal)
27
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
28
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
26. Fort Preussen under Austrian Siege in 1758. C – Austrian
countervallation. (Detail of SBB III C Kart. X 31035/3)
symmetrically on both sides of the axis of Friedrichsstadt
and strengthened by redans and two large, separate
redoubts. In the eastern line, according to all the designs,
was built a small star work, called Bombardier Fort.
The principal feature of Fort Preussen seemed to be a
towering of concentric lines of defence that could have
produced a remarkable firepower. The number of heavy
guns in the fort could have amounted to 60. Though the
casemates were intended for 1,000 men, the manning must
have varied according to need.
When the Seven Years’ War broke out in 1756, the entire
complex was probably complete. During the war, in 1758,
Neisse successfully resisted the one-month siege laid by
the corps of General von Harsch, and was not attacked
after that. Nevertheless, the siege exposed certain
deficiencies in the existing fortifications. As a result, after
1763 new defences were built on the upper, northern
riverside, where the Austrians had located their fortified
positions during the siege. This new, long bastioned
perimeter situated on the formidable ridge resulted in the
inclusion of new large areas into the system of
fortifications and led to an inevitable ‘elephantiasis’,
which had in fact been initiated already when Frederick
decided that Fort Preussen be built. From then on, Fort
Preussen, strengthened in 1775-6 by three outworks in
front of the northern front, became a true ‘donjon’ for the
entire fortress.
Even if the enlarged fortifications could potentially
transform the fortress into a great retrenched camp, in
1807 the Prussians had at their disposal only half the
amount of manpower required to man all the positions.
Moreover, the upper fortifications with Fort Preussen
seemed to cause so many difficulties for besiegers that
when Jerome Bonaparte laid siege, he successfully
concentrated all effort on conquering the town itself.
In the second half of the nineteenth century Fort
Preussen was slightly modified in order to provide for new
artillery. Despite subsequent devastation, it appears to be
in a relatively good condition with parts of the upper
fortifications still in existence.
Fort Schäferberg at Glatz
By 1742 the fortress of Glatz41 was a citadel or a medieval
castle which was strongly refortified after 1622 when it
29
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
Plan of Neisse; c1790.
F – the upper
fortifications in place of
the Austrian positions
from 1758. (Detail of the
unidentified plan from
author’s collection)
Fort Preussen, The
courtyard of the fort
with the well house in
the middle. (Grzegorz
Bukal)
30
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
was the scene of the closing episode of the Bohemian
phase of the Thirty Years’ War. The fortress extends over a
spacious mountain top (Fortress Mount) which dominates
the town to the north. The town – the old capital of Glatz
County, in the Middle Ages a borderland between Polish
Silesia and Bohemia – was enclosed by obsolete defensive
walls, and its eastern front was protected by the River
Neisse, known for frequent overflowing. The opposite, east
bank of the river is occupied by another, somewhat lower
mount – Schäferberg (Shepherd’s Mount). Its west face
rises abruptly, similar to the east face of Fortress Mount. In
the past Glatz was an important junction where three roads
had converged: from Moravia, Bohemia and Silesia; the
last one running through a gorge of app 300m in width,
between two mountains, was a true gate into Silesia.
Frederick conquered the fortress of Glatz on April 1742
and by mid 1743 Walrave’s designs for new fortifications
were ready. The existing fortress was to be strengthened
and a new fort was to be erected on Schäferberg. We have
no evidence whether any alternative designs were
considered, but in spite of some alterations made probably
by Frederick himself –as also happened elsewhere – this
design formed a pattern for future fortification.
The main function of the new fort was to improve
control over the gorge and to prevent the old fortress from
being bombarded from Schäferberg as had happened
during the siege of 1622.
The work started in 1744 but its progress was sluggish
due to rocky ground, and the fort was not completed until
Fort Preussen. The interior of the
casemate. The stone consoles indicate
position of the wooden floor.
(Grzegorz Bukal)
31
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
A design for a refortification of
Glatz. Walrave, 1743. The
drawing shows the large scale
planned countermines. Black
lines mark possibly Frederick’s
corrections of the design,
indicating later works. (SBB
III C Kart. X 25107)
32
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
33
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
Plan of Fort Schäferberg showing the fort with outworks, 1763. Note the central II type bastion. (Detail of SBB III C Kart. X
25107/20)
34
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
Reconstruction of Fort Schäferberg
c 1760; (Grzegorz Bukal)
31. Plan of
casemates of
Fort
Schäferberg
(c1810)
showing the
reduit and the
casemates. LC
– Low Crown,
HC – High
Crown, R – the
reduit, FC –
Fer à cheval,
CR – Red
Casemates,
CW – White
Casemates.
(Detail of
unidentified
plan from
author’s
collection)
35
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
the mid 1750’s. The supervisor of the work at Glatz was worked stone, app 3,0m in thickness, are pierced by a few
Lieutenant-Colonel von Wrede, who in the beginning was windows and numerous narrow gunports on two levels.
supervised by Walrave. The inner construction, i.e floors and structure were
Fort Schäferberg was perhaps the strangest work wooden except for two narrow brick staircases in the
Walrave had ever designed. The work was composed on a central hall.
single axis of symmetry; contrary to conventional star The keystone with the royal initials FR and date ‘1746’
works, it has no closed enceinte, its fronts are different and in the squat, main portal was the only decorative element
specialized. It was not designed as a composition of of this structure.
concentric lines of defence; it is rather a set of a few The earthwork of the High Crown is a single bastion.
cooperating but at the same time independent works. On both sides of High Crown are located two redoubts.
Its nucleus is formed by a defence called Höhe Krone High, trapezoidal in plan and with battlemented parapets
(High Crown,) located on the west, rear side of the fort. they resemble low towers.
The High Crown is a reduit protected by earthwork from These three structures are preceded by frontal work
outside. In plan the reduit resembles the letter ‘W’ or a half called the Niedere Krone (Low Crown,) a large
of four-pointed star. It is divided into three spaces – the crownwork with central bastion of the already mentioned
central hall or passage, leading onto the earthwork and two ‘type II’. The whole was surrounded by a wide ditch and
symmetrical rooms. The entire work is two-stories high, then an envelope with protruding caponiers (instead of
roofed over with a tunnel vault of app 6.0m span and large redoubts in the covered way, which Walrave had
covered with a mound. The rough walls built of irregularly initially designed) and a countersloping glacis.
Fort Schäferberg. The façade of the reduit. (Grzegorz Bukal)
36
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
Fort Schäferberg. Detail of the façade of the White Casemate.
(Grzegorz Bukal)
In the rear of the fort was built a massive, low, earthen,
longitudinal and round fronted caponier, similar to early-
renaissance works or the great gorge-caponiers of
detached forts of the first half of the 19th century. The task
of this extravagant work, called ‘fer à cheval’, was to
shoot at the rear face of the fort and into the face of the
mountain behind.
Since, except for the reduit, no casemates had been built
within the fort, it must soon have appeared that new rooms
were necessary. The new casemates were built before 1757
in the western part of the fort. Their location behind and a
few meters underneath the reduit made them well
protected from possible shooting. Two symmetrical wings
are two-storey, separated into small rooms, vaulted above
the upper floor. The wings are connected by a low tower
situated on the axis of the fort, semicircular in plan and
with a gun terrace on the top. In one wing there were
probably located officers’ and soldiers’ quarters; in the
other a bakery and a brewery. They represent a very early
Fort Schäfferberg, the guardhouses of the inner gate. (Grzegorz Bukal)
37
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
Fort Schäfferberg. The main entrance with guardhouses.
(Grzegorz Bukal)
Fort Schäfferberg. The
guardhouse. (Grzegorz
Bukal)
Fort Schäfferberg. The ceiling of the guardhouse showing its
rhomboidal plan. (Grzegorz Bukal)
38
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
Fort Schäfferberg,
the inner road
going between the
‘Fer à cheval’
and a solid rock.
(Grzegorz Bukal)
Fort Schäfferberg. The White Barracks. The facade. (Grzegorz Bukal)
39
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
Fort Schäfferberg. The Red Barracks. In the middle a ruin of the turret containing latrines. (Grzegorz Bukal)
40
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
Fort Schäfferberg.
The Red Barracks.
Details of the
façade. (Grzegorz
Bukal)
Fort Schäfferberg.
The side elevation
of the reduit.
(Grzegorz Bukal)
41
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
Fort Schäfferberg. The interior of the reduit
(an iron foundry at present – it reminds one
of real hell (Grzegorz Bukal)
The place of the Fort Schäfferberg as seen
from the Fortress. (Grzegorz Bukal)
42
Fortress Study GroupP RUSSIAN S TAR F ORTS IN THE 18 TH C ENTURY
Fort Schäfferberg. The loopholes in the wall
of the reduit. (Grzegorz Bukal)
43
Fortress Study GroupG RZEGORZ B UKAL
type of the ‘barracks in the gorge’. The façades were built The Forts of Schweidnitz
of brick, with quiet early-classical decoration of white, Schweidnitz42 spreads along the undulating west bank of
intricate masonry and plastered pilasters, friezes, and stone the Bystrzyca River, a tributary of the Oder, app 20m
cornice, so the building was called The Red Barracks. above the valley. The disaster of the Thirty Years’ War had
By the outbreak of the Seven Years’ War, Fort ended the golden era of this once prosperous former
Schäferberg was connected with the old Fortress by two capital of an old Silesian duchy.
lines of defence, presumably according to the alterations On January 1st 1741, the Prussians conquered the town.
Frederick had made to Walrave’s design. Schweidnitz’s location close to the natural line of defence
A true curiosity of Walrave’s original design was the formed by mountain ranges, and its potential importance
countermine system for Glatz. It was the largest system as a junction where the old roads from Bohemia and
which had ever been intended to be built in any Prussian Silesia converged created the right set of opportunities for
fortresses. Yet, because of hard, rocky ground on locating there a large, fortified complex of magazines.
Schäferberg, a complete countermine system was carried Between 1741 and 1745 the existing fortifications of
out only on the Fortress Mount; the fort itself was merely Schweidnitz were modified, so during the spring
equipped with a few chambers. campaign of 1745, the town had successfully functioned
In accordance with Frederick’s alterations, three large as the main Prussian operational base for the whole of
lunettes were built around the fort; the fourth work, though Silesia. However, the proximity and significance of the
it had also been planned, was probably built by the fighting that had culminated in Frederick’s famous victory
Austrians who held Glatz between 1760 and 1763, and at Hohenfriedberg (4th June 1745) brought about the
carried out some modifications. transformation of Schweidnitz into a large place d’armes
The postwar building efforts of the first half of the or retrenched camp.
1770s were concentrated on Fortress Mount and probably Walrave started designing in 1747, and it seems
no earlier than the early 1780s, the work on Schäferberg doubtful that the work could have been completed before
started again. The first task was probably a transformation his imprisonment in the beginning of 1748, so Frederick’s
of the envelope; the countersloping glacis was replaced by co-authorship of the decisive form of fortifications seems
a new outer ditch and a covered way. Instead of the old to be certain.
caponiers, new scarp-caponiers were built in the envelope. The initial idea of the new fortification came down to
At the same time a new battery was built to the south of building around the town a chain of detached,
the fort, thus enclosing the ring of outworks. The standardized works and though it was in fact nothing new,
enlargement of Schäferberg brought the necessity for new its execution resulted in one of the most unusual
quarters. As a result, a new barracks was added to the fortresses in the whole history of European fortification.
north wing of the old complex. It is a long, two-storey In this case Walrave might have been inspired by the
building with monotonous, originally plastered façade fortifications of Mainz – and perhaps Philippsburg, where
without any decoration, called Weisse Kaserne (The White a partial system of outworks had been built during the
Barracks.) War of Spanish Succession ca 1714, or by his own
The number of heavy guns on Schäferberg supposedly experiences at Stettin.
amounted to app 50 – 60. The manning of the fort during In all designs the fortifications of Schweidnitz were to
wartime consisted app 1,000 men. consist of two parts:
After 1742 Glatz was besieged twice. Schäferberg
played no part in the short siege of 1760. As to the role of the old, modernized enceinte or a ring of walls with
the fort in the siege of 1807, we have no hard evidence but small bastions and oblong, round bastions, built in the
it is possible that it was significant. The transformation of 16th century and working exactly like caponiers in the
Schäferberg in the 19th century was imperceptible. Only polygonal system;
four of its outworks were demolished at the end of the the ring of outworks in the approaches. The external
century. In spite of subsequent devastation and damage, all ring was to be composed of four similar star forts and
the most important works on Schäferberg have survived in four redoubts located between forts. The works were
a semi-ruined state until today. not connected with either of the defensive lines, the
44
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