Brest Hero-Fortress Memorial Complex
Nineteenth-century citadel at the Bug and Mukhavets confluence, rebuilt as a Soviet war memorial in 1971.
Building of the fortress began in 1833 on the site of the old town of Brest-Litovsk and the works were completed in 1842, with a central citadel on an island between the Bug and the Mukhavets ringed by three outlying fortifications. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed in the White Palace here in 1918. The garrison's resistance after the German attack of 22 June 1941 became one of the best known episodes of the Soviet war, and the city was given the title Hero-Fortress in 1965.
The memorial complex was opened on 25 September 1971 to designs by a team of architects and sculptors led by Vladimir Korol and Alexander Kibalnikov. Visitors enter through a concrete block cut with a star, and the site takes in the colossal Courage head, the Thirst sculpture, the bayonet obelisk, the ruined ring barracks and the Kholm and Terespol gates. Several museums sit within the walls, including the Museum of the Defence of the Brest Fortress and the Eastern Fort display.
Highlights
- Star-shaped main entrance cut through a concrete block
- Courage head and the 100-metre bayonet obelisk
- Shell-scarred ring barracks and the Kholm Gate
- Museum of the Defence of the Brest Fortress inside the citadel
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