Modlin Fortress

Modlin Fortress
Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Poland
One of the bridgeheads on the other side of the Narew
Type	Bastion citadel
Site information
Controlled by	France, Imperial Russia, Poland
Site history
Built	1806–1812
In use	1812–present
Battles/wars	November Uprising, Battle of Modlin

Modlin Fortress (Polish Twierdza Modlin) is one of the biggest 19th century fortresses in Poland. It is located in the town of Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki in district Modlin on the Narew river, some 50 kilometres north of Warsaw. It was renamed Novogeorgievsk (Новогеоргиевская крепость) after it was captured by the Russians in 1813.

The strategic importance of the area limited by the Vistula, Bug, Wkra and Narew was known to various armies throughout the ages. However, it was not until 1656 that a permanent fortified position was built there by the Swedish armies during The Deluge. The so-called Bugskansen was a star-shaped fortified military camp, located probably close to the confluence of the Narew and the Vistula, at the so-called Swedish Island. The camp was also guarding a wooden bridge over the Vistula prior to the battle of Zakroczym and served as the main supply depot of the Swedish army during the battle of Warsaw of July 1656. After the Swedish defeat the fort was demolished in 1660 and the area remained unfortified for roughly 150 years.

After the Partitions of Poland the area was incorporated into the Russian Empire. Shortly afterward Jan Pieter van Suchtelen, a Dutch military engineer in Russian service prepared a construction plan for a mighty fortress in the area, named after the nearby town of Zakroczym. The fort was to be a bastion fortress, located approximately 1.5 km from the rivers and with several forts guarding the area from the west. However, the project was never accomplished as in 1806 the area became part of the Duchy of Warsaw, a rump Polish state created by and allied to Napoleon Bonaparte.