FORTE CULTURA® is the European Cultural Route of Fortified Monuments and represents the European cultural heritage of fortresses. This includes individual fortresses, fortified towns, citadels, fortified castles and palaces, fortified sacred buildings, large fortress systems, defence lines and the bunkers of the two world wars and the Cold War.

Visit modern museums with interactive exhibitions and multimedia shows or experience history up close with living history programmes and staged guided tours. Enjoy great concerts and music festivals, art installations and live performances, children's events and re-enactments. FORTE CULTURA takes you along the European cultural route of fortress monuments.

FORTE CULTURA fortresses introduce themselves

In our FORTE CULTURA fortress portraits you will find lots of interesting information about the respective fortress monument. Browse through exciting leisure and adventure programmes, historical background information and architectural highlights. Get in touch with the local players and book your next excursion or cultural event.

Annweiler (DE)

Trifels Fortified Castle (DE), fascinating history in the Palatinate Forest

Bad Dürkheim (DE)

Hardenburg castle and fortress ruins (DE)

Bard (IT)

Bollwerk am Eingang zum Aostetal – Meisterwerk des Festungsbaus zu Beginn des 19. Jh.

Büdingen (DE)

Fortress town: 500 years of fortress architecture in the county of Ysenburg-Büdingen

Cochem (DE)

Government bunker: Bundesbank bunker in Cochem - German currency history during the Cold War

Dahn (DE)

Fortified castles in Dahn (DE), romantic castle ruins in the Palatinate Forest

Dettenheim-Rußheim (DE)

Military bunker: Museum Westwall Bunker Dettenheim-Rußheim (DE)

Dömitz (DE)

Citadel and fortified ideal city: the only completely preserved Renaissance pentagonal citadel in northern Germany

Dubrovnik (HR)

Fortified town: city fortifications of the ancient maritime republic of Ragusa

Germersheim (DE)

Fortress town: Germersheim Fortress as part of the Rhenish fortress line of the German Confederation

Gizycko (PL)

Fortress system: Prussian fortress architecture in the heart of the Masurian Lake District

Gorgast (DE)

Fort: outer fortress of the Prussian fortress Küstrin, jewel of military architecture in the Oder-Warthe region

Grauerort (DE)

Fortress: The artillery fort on the Elbe cycle path, Prussian fortress architecture of the 19th century

Griesheim-sur-Souffel (FR)

Military bunker: Nellkopf Infantry Base I52 (FR)

Haguenau (FR)

Military bunker: fortress (large shelter) of the Maginot Line

Hornisgrinde (DE)

Military bunker: former French command bunker Hornisgrinde (DE)

Ingolstadt (DE)

Bavarian state fortress Ingolstadt, major fortress system on the Danube

Josefov (CZ)

Fortified ideal city: pearl of fortress construction of the KuK monarchy

Kaub (DE)

Fortified Pfalzgrafenstein Castle (DE), unique customs castle in the middle of the Rhine

Kehl-Neumühl (DE)

Military bunker: Westwall camouflage bunker Kehl-Neumühl (DE)

Klingenmünster (DE)

Fortified Landeck Castle (DE), castle ruins with an exciting adventure programme

Koblenz (DE)

Prussian large-scale festival system at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers

Koblenz Ehrenbreitstein (DE)

Fortress: Imposing fortress opposite the Deutsches Eck (DE)

Komárom (HU)

Fort: part of the Austro-Hungarian fortification system Komárno (SK)/ Komárom (HU)

Königstein, Saxony (DE)

Fortress: One of the most beautiful and powerful mountain fortresses in Europe

Kostrzyn nad Odrą (PL)

Fortress system: Prussian bulwark and once shining fortress city on the Oder

Kronach (DE)

Rosenberg Fortress - the magnificent crown of the Lucas Cranach town of Kronach

La Línea de la Concepción (ES)

Lines of defence: Defence bulwark against Gibraltar; forts and bunkers from 300 years of fortification history

Landstuhl (DE)

Fortified Nanstein Castle (DE), Barbarossa's stronghold on the Kahlenberg

Lembach (FR)

Military bunker: fortress (large shelter) of the Maginot Line

Mainz (DE)

Fortress system: 2000 years of fortress history - from Roman fort to Prussian imperial fortress

Medzhybizh (UA)

Fortress: White Swan of Podolia; the eventful history of a town and its fortress

Modlin (PL)

Fortress system: On the trail of European military policy in one of Europe's largest fortress systems

Mürlenbach (DE)

Fortified Bertradaburg Castle (DE)

Neuried Altenheim(DE)

Military bunker: Westwall camouflage bunker "Emilie" (DE)

Ohrid (MKD)

Medieval fortress in the unique UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site of the Lake Ohrid region

Pelm (DE)

Fortified Kasselburg Castle (DE), eagle and wolf park in a historic setting

Prague Vyšehrad (CZ)

Fortress: National cultural monument, Impressive history and legends high above the Vltava River

Queichlinien (DE)

Vertedigungslinie: On the trail of European history in the Southern Palatinate

Rasnov (RO)

Cultural fortress in the heart of Transylvania, legends and fairy tales at the former peasant castle

Rastatt (DE)

Museum of defence history in the former federal fortress of Rastatt

Reimerswiller (FR)

Military bunker: Bunker PC Reimerswiller - Historical Museum (FR)

Rüsselsheim (DE)

Hessian state fortress on the Main, early modern fortress heritage meets industrial culture of the Main foreland

Sabbioneta (IT)

Fortified ideal city, UNESCO: fortress architecture in hitherto unknown perfection

San Marino (SMR)

Fortress system, UNESCO: Sky fortresses in one of the oldest republics in the world

Schoenenbourg (FR)

Military bunker: cornerstone of the Maginot Line in Alsace

Šibenik (HR)

Cultural fortress Šibenik, fascinating fortress system on the Adriatic Sea

Srebrna Góra (PL)

Fortress system: Polish National Park - cultural fortress in the Silesian Owl Mountains

St. Johann (DE)

Fortified Bürresheim Castle (DE), fairytale castle in the Eifel region

Strausberg (DE)

Government bunker: GDR telecommunications bunker - Cold War memorial site

Terezín (CZ)

Fortified ideal city: masterpiece of fortress architecture, historic Elbe fortress and memorial to the Second World War

Torgau (DE)

The only large fortress system in Saxony still preserved in parts; fortified Hartenfels Castle

Ulm (DE)

Fortress system: One of the largest fortifications in Europe with a varied programme of experiences on the Danube

Walbourg (FR)

Museum 1870-1945 Alsace (FR)

Windischleuba (DE)

Fortified moated castle: popular youth hostel with a wide range of facilities in a historic setting

Ziegenhain (DE)

Fortress town: Hessian land fortress - bulwark of the Protestants, where confirmation was once invented