Kaunas Fortress

Kaunas Fortress
Lithuania
Fortress plan from the 19th century
Site information
Controlled by	Russian Empire (1882–1915)  German Empire (1915–18)  Lithuania (1918–40, 1990–present)  Soviet Union (1940–41, 1944–90)  Nazi Germany (1941–1944)
Site history
Built	19th–20th centuries
In use	1882–present
Materials	Bricks, reinforced concrete
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

Kaunas Fortress (Lithuanian: Kauno tvirtovė, Russian: Кοвенская крепость) is the remains of a fortress complex in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was constructed and renovated between 1882 and 1915 to protect the Russian Empire's western borders, and was designated a "first-class" fortress in 1887. During World War I, the complex was the largest defensive structure in the entire state, occupying 65 km² (25 sq mi).

The fortress was battle-tested in 1915 when Germany attacked the Russian Empire, and withstood eleven days of assault before capture. After World War I, the fortress' military importance declined as advances in weaponry rendered it increasingly obsolete. It was used by various civil institutions and as a garrison.

During World War II, parts of the fortress complex were used by the Nazi Germany for detention, interrogation, and execution. About 50,000 people were executed there, including more than 30,000 victims of the Holocaust. Some sections have since been restored; the Ninth Fort houses a museum and memorial devoted to the victims of wartime mass executions. The complex is the most complete remaining example of a Russian Empire fortress.

The city of Kaunas is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Neman and Neris, which link Lithuania's interior and its capital, Vilnius, to the Baltic Sea. The Baltic peoples had created significant domains by the 1st century, and came into conflict with the Scandinavians and the Slavs; the Teutonic Order began targeting Lithuanian lands at the beginning of the 13th century. Since Lithuania was heavily wooded and its lands were often impassable, its interior was most approachable along its rivers when frozen and during the short dry harvest season in late summer. In response to this vulnerability, defensive structures, including a brick castle in Kaunas, were in place at various points on the Nemunas River by the 14th century. The city was first mentioned in written sources in 1361; it received Magdeburg rights, regulating its autonomy and establishing trade protocols, from Vytautas the Great in 1408. An outpost of the Hanseatic League was created there in 1441. By the end of the 16th century Kaunas had become a major regional trade center, but plagues, fires, and wars adversely affected the country and city during the 17th and 18th centuries. Following the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th century, Lithuania was incorporated into the Russian Empire. Two major 19th century projects contributed to the city's revival. The Augustów Canal, completed in 1832, linked the Neman to the Black Sea, and a rail line linking Saint Petersburg, Warsaw, and Germany via Kaunas was completed in 1862; it was part of a limited network of western Russian railways.