Kłodzko Fortress: 1000 years of history on the main route and in underground corridors

• Kłodzko Fortress is a powerful fortress of Europe, it is 1000 years old
• It is open to tourists all year round
• It offers 2 sightseeing routes: the upper main route and underground corridors
• Underground is only accessible with a guide
• You can buy tickets for a single route or combined
• Paid parking is waiting under the fortress, free of charge at Stryjeńska Street

Kłodzko Fortress is one of the most important fortresses in Europe. Over the centuries, a lot has happened here, 1000 years of history. It all began in the 10th century, when a castle and a castle were built here, and later it grew to enormous sizes today. Its history is inextricably linked with the history of the city. It is a unique monument of modern military architecture. It once protected soldiers, the city of Kłodzko and the entire region, and today as a great tourist attraction it invites tourists to explore on two routes: the upper and the underground.

Access and parking

Access to the Kłodzko Fortress is relatively easy. It is located in the heart of the city, above the market square. The easiest way to get here is by car from Wrocław on road No. 8, which takes about 1.5 hours, or from Katowice on the A4 motorway, and behind Opole on road No. 46. The entire route takes about 3 hours. I recommend a free car park at Zofia Stryjeńska Street, near the Gothic bridge, or a paid car park at Czeska Street under the fortress itself, but this one is quickly stopping. When both are full, and thealternative are free parking lots at Barci Gierymskich Street and Zawisza Czarnego Street.

Visiting the Kłodzko Fortress

The Kłodzko Fortress has been open to tourists since 1960. Visiting the fortress takes place on 2 routes. The main route and in underground labyrinths created by counter-mining corridors. Visiting the underground takes place only with a guide, because it is easy to get lost here, while the ground route can be visited on your own. You can buy a combined ticket for both routes, or separate tickets for individual routes. Visiting the main tourist route takes about 1.5 hours, while along with the labyrinths it is about 3 hours. The Fortress also organizes an extremely exciting night tour, during which the facility is not illuminated and is only strolled by the light of lanterns carried by tourists. Underground, and especially the lowest corridors, are not recommended for people suffering from claustrophobia. In some places, you have to bend over and it's quite narrow. Workshops, picnics and other attractions for children are also organized in the Fortress.

Upper Main Route 

The main route offers multimedia in several places. It shows the reality of the life of a Prussian soldier in the heyday of the building. In addition, it shows it from the time when the prison was located here. The route covers the most interesting places of the Fortress, including:

• Tumski Courtyard
• Alarm Bastion
• Lazaret
• Tower Bastion
• Donjon – last place of defense

On the route, you will meet the perfect vantage point with a panoramic view of the city and the surrounding mountains. Another interesting feature is the T34 tank, which played the role of Red 102 in the TV series Four Tanks and a Dog. This is a great curiosity.

Underground labyrinths - countermin corridors

A great attraction are the underground labyrinths that stretch for several kilometers under the battle slope of the fortress. Once, to gain such a heavily fortified place, trenches were made and walls were blown up. Thus, counter-mining corridors were created, which were used by miners to listen to and eliminate occupied corridors by the enemy using giant mines. They could have had up to 2 tons of gunpowder and occupied the entire corridor. Such power was needed to destroy fragments of these powerful fortifications.

The underground labyrinth covered only the north-western part of the fortress, the most vulnerable to attacks. In fact, this tactic was never tested in combat and there was no powerful explosion. This part of the fortress is only visited with a guide, because the network of hollow tunnels is dense and complicated, so it is easy to get lost here.

Kłodzko Fortress - interesting facts

• The network of countermine pavements under the fortress is as long as 7 km. There is a constant temperature of 6 - 8° C throughout the year
• On the Alarm Bastion there are famous stairs, on which the film heroes from the series "Four Tanks and a Dog" ran. In the video, it seems that they are extremely high, in fact, there are definitely fewer of them
• On the route, you will meet a tank that played the role of Red 102. 10 such tanks played this role, and Sharik was actually played by four different dogs. Episode 21 shows this place well
• In its heyday, the Fortress could accommodate as many as 5,000,000 soldiers and they could survive in it without contact with the outside world for up to half a year
• In the Fortress, you can reserve a cannon shot
• During World War II, the fortress served as a prison and weapons factory, after the war it was used as a military warehouse, and today there is a shooting range here

History of the Fortress

The history of the Kłodzko Fortress begins in the 10th century, more precisely in 981, when the Czech chronicler Kosmas mentioned the defensive stronghold in his chronicle. It was a stronghold with wooden and earth fortifications. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, a fortified castle was built here, which became the seat of the Silesian Piasts. It consisted of living quarters, a chapel and the church of St. Wenceslas and St. Martin. Today, after the medieval beginnings, only a few stone castle blocks remain. The rest disappeared with the expansion of this important stronghold.

In the 16th century, the architect Ernest Lorenz Kirschke expanded the fortress with a medium and lower castle, creating a significant defense system of the city. The fortress was significantly expanded in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, first by the Austrians, and later by the Prussians. Initially, 3 bastions were built: Jabłonka, Ludmila and Wenceslas. They formed the so-called crown work, covering the Fortress Mountain from the north and east. From the south and west, the Alarm and Hunchback bastions and the Eagle half-bastion were built. The Prussian king Frederick II the Great ordered the expansion of the fortress, which became one of the most powerful fortresses in Europe and a key point of defense for the newly conquered areas. During this time, additional fortifications were built, as well as a system of corridors and adits, as well as an auxiliary fort on nearby Ovcza Góra.

In 1806-07, the Franco-Prussian War was fought. Bonaparte then unsuccessfully besieged the fortress walls during the Napoleonic wars. However, it was not Napoleon himself, but his brother Jerome. It is true that the fortress finally surrendered, but it was not handed over, because in the meantime peace was concluded in Tylża, ending the struggle on July 9, 1807.

With the change in the conduct of warfare, the role of fortifications decreased and at the end of the 18th century the expansion of the fortress ceased. During World War II, there was a Nazi prison for political prisoners, a place of execution and a labor camp.

The Kłodzko Fortress is not only a historical monument, but also a place full of secrets and legends that attract tourists from all over Poland and Europe.

Our video about Kłodzko

Finally, I take you on a journey around Kłodzko and its original attractions.

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Practical information

Fortress Kłodzko
ul. Grodzisko 1, Kłodzko
Current sightseeing hours and ticket prices:
www.twierdza.klodzko.pl 2 routes: Main tourist route and underground corridors Underground
sightseeing only with a guide
You can buy a combined ticket or for individual routes
The tour of the main route takes about 1.5 hours, with underground labyrinths about 3 hours
10% discount with the Large Family Card
In the underground labyrinths there is a constant temperature of 6-8°C throughout the year

Rent a car

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What's worth seeing in the area?

You don't have to travel far to find more interesting places. Within a radius of 100 kilometers, there are many attractions waiting for you that will certainly enrich your stay Your trip with additional memories.

• Fortress Silver Mountain, distance: 15  km
• Szczeliniec Wielki, distance: 22.7  km
• Bear Cave in Kletno, distance: 26.5  km
• Grodno Castle in Zagórze Śląskie, distance: 38.5  km
• Church of Peace in Świdnica, distance: 46.6  km
• Książ Castle, distance: 51.5  km
• Palace in Kopice, distance: 60.6  km
• Moszna Castle, distance: 78.9  km
• Wrocław Zoo with Afrkarium, distance: 79.8  km
• Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław, distance: 79.9  km