FORTE CULTURA® is a European cultural route on the subject of „Fortress Cultural Heritage“. It connects fortress landscapes across Europe through their tangible and intangible heritage in the field of military architecture.

FORTE CULTURA® tells a coherent European story: how fortifications developed after the introduction of gunpowder, from Renaissance bastions and fortified towns to polygonal fortresses, defence lines, underground shelters and Cold War bunkers.

FORTE CULTURA® describes the transformation of military architecture. Buildings that were once erected for defence, separation and control are now being reinterpreted as places of culture, learning, dialogue and sustainable local development.

Under the motto "Fortresses for Culture and Peace" FORTE CULTURA invites you to discover the fortified cultural heritage as part of Europe's common memory and as a living resource for contemporary society.

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.

Alessandria (IT)

Citadel: Unique fortress on the River Tanaro - a symbol of culture, memory and defence

Annweiler (DE)

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

Avrieux & Aussois (FR)

Esseillon fortress system: Monumental fortress art in the Alps, where history comes to life.

Bad Dürkheim (DE)

Hardenburg castle and fortress ruins (DE)

Bard (IT)

Bulwark at the entrance to the Aostetal - masterpiece of fortress construction at the beginning of the 19th century

Belfort (FR)

Fortress system: impregnable bulwark designed by Vauban and a symbol of resistance

Büdingen (DE)

The Fortified Town of Büdingen: 500 Years of Fortification 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

Daugavpils (LV)

The Fortified City of Daugavpils: The world’s last completed bastion fortress!

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

Fortezza (IT)

Bulwark on the Brenner Pass - a masterpiece of Austrian fortress architecture

Fredericia (DK)

The fortified model city of Fredericia, a bulwark on the Little Belt

Germersheim (DE)

The fortified town of Germersheim as part of the Rhenish Fortification Line of the German Confederation

Gibraltar (GI)

Gibraltar fortress system - 1000 years of defence evolution. Discover the fortress heritage of three cultures.

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: Abri Hatten – a fortification (large shelter) on 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)

A Fortified Model Town: Josefstadt – The Jewel of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy’s Fortifications

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)

Kiev (UA)

Fortress system: National Historical-Architectural Museum "The Kiev Fortress"

Klingenmünster (DE)

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

Koblenz (DE)

The Fortified City of Koblenz: The Prussian Great Fortress System at the confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine

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)

Medzhybizh Fortress: The White Swan of Podolia; The Turbulent History of a Town and its Fortress

Mürlenbach (DE)

Fortified Bertradaburg Castle (DE)

Neuried Altenheim (DE)

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

Nysa (PL)

Eventful (fortress) history in Upper Silesia - part of the former Prussian Neisse fortification system

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

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)

Remagen (DE)

FRIEDENSMUSEUM Bridge of Remagen - World History 1945 on the Rhine

Sabbioneta (IT)

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

Sant'Oreste (IT)

World War II and Cold War bunkers: Monte Soratte, the hidden fortress north of Rome

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 Agatha’s Tower, Malta (MT)

Fortress: The Order of St John’s ‘Red Jewel’ in Malta, with nearly 400 years of military history

St. Johann (DE)

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

Strausberg (DE)

Government bunker: GDR telecommunications bunker - Cold War memorial site

Suomenlinna (FI)

Sveaborg sea fortress on the outskirts of Helsinki, Experience unique fortress history in a UNESCO World Heritage 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

Valle Sabbia (IT)

Rocca d'Anfo fortress: Italy's largest Napoleonic fortress; nature, architecture and history high above Lake Idro

Walbourg (FR)

Museum 1870-1945 Alsace (FR)

Willemstad (NL)

The fortified model city of Willemstad, stronghold of the Seven Provinces – where history lives within the ramparts; part of the Zuiderwaterlinie

Windischleuba (DE)

Windischleuba Fortified Moated Castle: A popular youth hostel offering a wide range of activities in a historic setting

Ziegenhain (DE)

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