Fort 52 "Borek"
Fortress Kraków
A two-rampart artillery fort from 1885-1886, most probably designed by Daniel Salis-Soglio; three forts in Fortress Przemyśl were built on its model. The higher rampart was intended for artillery, the lower one for infantry and light guns. The fort holds the first three-level underground junction of routes in Kraków, used to move soldiers and transport weapons. The fort was revitalised in 2013-2022, and since 30 July 2022 it has been managed by the Podgórze Culture Centre and houses the Library of Polish Song. In June 2022 the grounds were opened to residents as a park.
History
Fort 52 "Borek" was built in 1884-1886 as a double-rampart artillery fort: the higher rampart was intended for artillery, the lower one for infantry and light guns. It was most probably designed by Daniel Salis-Soglio, and three forts of the Przemyśl Fortress were modelled on it. The fort is sometimes described as a kind of experiment that combined solutions from several schools of fortification (French, German, Belgian and Austrian) with the experience of the war in the Balkans of 1877-1878. Inside, an extensive system of passages was built, including Kraków's first three-level underground junction of routes used to move soldiers and transport weapons.
The fort belonged to the fortress's 8th defensive sector, covering the area between the valleys of the Wilga and the upper Vistula. It was meant to command the Vienna road, today's Zakopianka, and to guard the approaches from Libertów. It saw no fighting in the First World War. Between the wars it served the army as a storehouse, and during the German occupation French and Soviet prisoners of war were held here.
After the war the fort was adapted for industrial use, and until the 1990s it housed the vehicle and equipment depot of a building cooperative. It then stood unused and in poor condition for well over a decade. Its revitalisation lasted from 2013 to 2022. Since 30 July 2022 the fort has been managed by the Podgórze Cultural Centre and is home to the Polish Song Library. In June 2022 the grounds were opened to residents as a park.
Did you know?
On 26 December 1944 an American B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, damaged during a raid on the refinery at Blechhammer, made a wheels-up emergency landing on the ground in front of the fort. The crew had been trying to reach territory controlled by the Red Army. The American airmen are commemorated in the park around the fort.