Fort 51½ "Wróblowice"
Fortress Kraków
An armoured fort from 1897-1898, also known as "Swoszowice", belonging to the VII fortified area. It had four armoured turrets, which were scrapped after 1940; it was extended in 1902 and is well preserved. It stands 200 metres south of J. and F. Sawiczewskich Street. On 7 November 2012 the fort, together with a nearby shelter, was entered in the register of monuments.
History
Fort 51 ½ "Wróblowice", also known as "Swoszowice", is an armoured close-defence fort built in 1897-1898 to a design by Emil Gołogórski. It belonged to the 7th fortified area and was meant to protect Kraków from the south. It was much smaller than the artillery forts, and so cheaper to build and harder to hit. It had four armoured turrets with artillery, and in 1902 it was extended.
The fort took part in neither the First nor the Second World War. After 1940 its armoured turrets were scrapped, but because outsiders had little access to it, the fort has survived in fairly good condition. It was used by Civil Defence and later by the Voivodeship Office in Kraków, which set up its archive here.
In 2012 the fort, together with a nearby ammunition shelter, was entered in the register of historic monuments. In 2013 the fort was leased by the "Gloria Fortibus" ("Glory to the Brave") foundation, which set up a Museum of Military Affairs in it. The museum tells the story of soldiers, mainly Poles serving in the uniforms of the partitioning powers and in the interwar period, and of the eastern front of the First World War. The fort stands on Sawiczewskich Street.
Did you know?
After 1989 the fort was used to store the statue of Vladimir Lenin removed from Róż Avenue in Nowa Huta. For two years nobody knew what to do with it.