Fort 31 "Benedykt"
Fortress Kraków
A tower fort from 1853-1856 on Lasota Hill, entered in the register of monuments of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It was designed by the Kraków architect Feliks Księżarski, who also designed Fort 2 "Kościuszko". The name comes from the nearby church of St Benedict. Its location on the edge of the Krzemionki hills resulted from the need to defend the approach linking Podgórze with Kraków and the Lwów Road, today Wielicka Street. During the Second World War the Germans held French prisoners of war in the fort, and between 1918 and 1984 it was adapted for housing.
History
Fort 31 "Benedykt" stands on Lasota Hill, on the edge of the limestone Krzemionki Podgórskie. It was built in 1853-1856 as a tower fort, in the early period of the construction of Kraków Fortress. Together with the "Krzemionki" tower, it stood in the rear of the "Krakus" fort, built around the Krakus Mound. The location was not chosen by chance: the fort was to defend the foreground linking Podgórze with Kraków and the Lviv Road, today's Wielicka Street. It is surrounded by Rękawka and Limanowskiego Streets, Powstańców Śląskich Avenue and the Old Podgórze Cemetery.
It was designed by the Kraków architect Feliks Księżarski (1820-1884), a graduate of the military school of artillery and engineering in Metz. He built churches, manor houses and public buildings all over Galicia, converted Wawel into barracks, directed the restoration of the Collegium Maius, and also worked on other fortifications of the fortress.
The fort takes its name from the nearby Church of St Benedict. According to the description of the hill, a Romanesque rotunda connected to a palatium stood here as early as the 10th or 11th century, and in the 12th century a small church was built on its foundations.
The fort included the group of Bastions VII-X. One of them, Bastion VIII, has survived almost intact and has a moat cut into the limestone rock.
The fort was rebuilt many times: in 1893-1905, and after 1918 and after 1945. During the Second World War the Germans held French prisoners of war in it. Between 1918 and 1984 it was adapted for housing. It is entered in the register of immovable historic monuments of the Lesser Poland voivodeship.
Did you know?
One of Kraków's oldest quarries operated on the same hill. What remains of it, a vertical rock face above Rękawka and Wielicka Streets, is now used by climbers.