Fort Bourguignon (Fort Monsival) is one of many
fortress
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...
es in
Pula,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
that were built by the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...
in the second half of the 19th century.
Design
The chief reason for building the fortress was to protect the Pula harbour, the main Austrian naval port. It was one of the last fortresses built that used inner fortification rings, forming an arc within a radius of distance to protect the port. It was named after the Austrian admiral
Anton Bourguignon von Baumberg. The fortress was inspired by the 1820 fortress design of
Archduke Maximilian of Austria-Este for protecting
Linz
Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...
, Austria. Pula's fortresses differ from the original Linz fortress in that older fortresses built between the years 1851-1855 are smaller and less well-fortified than the ones built ten years later, like Fort Bourguignon.
History
Originally called Fort Monsival, it was built from 1861 to 1866, as a two-story circled fortress with a small circular courtyard in the center.
Pula’s fortifications – impressive sights waiting to be discovered
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It is not known when the fortress stopped being used as a fortification, but it was used during Third Italian War of Independence in 1866. Soon afterward, it was considered non-operational, but the damage on the roof shows that it was used during the First World War as an army shelter. In the 1970s, the protective channel was half filled with trash. Ten years later a group of young activists turned the fort into one of the two most popular places for rave parties on the southern Adriatic coast.
Design
The hallway faces the yard and expands through every floor, while 20 casemate
A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...
s form the outer shell of the fortress. The fort has three embrasures on the lower floor for rifles, and one embrasure on the upper floor for a cannon
A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
. The ceiling is supported by massive oak beams, which once divided the two floors in each casemate. Only a few remain.
The roof of the fortress, which was able to rotate 360 degrees, served as a moving platform for artillery. The iron roof was probably constructed around the end of the 19th century.
The entrance into the Fort was protected by the drawbridge over a moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
and two caponier
A caponier is a type of defensive structure in a fortification. Fire from this point could cover the ditch beyond the curtain wall (fortification), curtain wall to deter any attempt to storm the wall. The word originates from the French ', meaning ...
s. A wall offers a gallery and embrasures for the rifles. The standard armament of Pula's fortresses, and probably also in Fort Bourguignon, was weapons
A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...
, the most famous Austrian cannon during the First World War.
See also
* Pula
References
{{reflist
Pula
Austrian Empire
Buildings and structures in Pula
Fortifications in Croatia
Tourist attractions in Pula