Fortress of Ulm

The fortress of Ulm (Bundesfestung Ulm) was one of five federal fortresses of the German Confederation around the cities of Ulm and Neu-Ulm. With its 9 km polygonal main circumvallation Ulm had the biggest fortress in Germany in the 19th century and it is still one of the biggest in Europe.

Plan of the Bundesfestung Ulm

After the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the victorious powers agreed to defend the states from the inside. The fortresses were one of the few realised projects of the confederation. The fortress Ulm was planned by the Prussian construction manager Moritz Karl Ernst von Prittwitz und Gaffron and built under his supervision between 1842 and 1859.

In peacetimes the fortress should hold 5,000 men of the federal army, in wartimes up to 20,000 soldiers. A plan to expand the fortress to hold 100,000 men was never realised. The building costs were valued at 16,5 mio. guilders.

The fortress is a closed, polygonal wall system around the cities of Ulm in the Kingdom of Württemberg and Neu-Ulm in the Kingdom of Bavaria. In some distance detached works were added. The at this time first stone bridge across the Danube laid between both cities inside of the fortress. The next stone bridge was in Regensburg.

For the first time the bastion system was given up and replaced by a polygonal system with detached works, which is called Neupreußische Manier (New Prussian Fortress System) or Neudeutsche Manier (New German Fortress System). The later constructed works at the upper Eselsberg were built as so-called "Biehler-Forts".

List of works

City circumvallation
Work No.NameBuiltToday's shape
IObere Donaubastion1843–55Reduit preserved, ramparts demolished in 1914
IICurtain wall with Ehinger Tor1843–55Inner Gate Ehingen and parts of the middle gate preserved, all other parts were demolished in 1903–04
IIIRavelin before Ehinger Tor1843–55Completely levelled 1903–04
IVMiddle Bastion1843–55Reduit preserved, remainder demolished in 1903–04
VBlau flèche1843–55Completely levelled 1903–04
VICurtain wall with Blaubeurer Tor1843–55Inner gate and 100 m of the curtain wall preserved, all other parts were demolished in 1903/04
VIIRavelin before Blaubeurer Tor1843–55Completely levelled 1903–04
VIIICurtain wall to the Kienlesberg1843–55Completely levelled 1903–04
IXCounterguard Kienlesberg1843–52Part of the Gate Ruhetal preserved, all other parts were demolished in 1903–04
XKienlesbergbastion1843–52Nearly completely preserved
XIWest mountain front1843–52Nearly completely preserved
XIIWilhelmsburg1842–48Completely preserved
XIIILeft feeder line1852–57Completely preserved
XIVLeft redoubt1852–57Completely preserved
XVCurtain wall between the redoubts1852–57Completely preserved
XVIRight redoubt1852–57Completely preserved
XVIIRight feeder line1852–57Completely preserved
XVIIIEast mountain front1843–58Nearly completely preserved
XIXObere Gaisenbergbastion1843–58Nearly completely preserved, but right side was demolished in 1904
XXCurtain wall1843–58Only the caponniere is preserved, all other parts were demolished in 1916
XXIUntere Gaisenbergbastion1843–58Just the double caponniere and parts of the escarped are preserved, all other parts were demolished in 1962
XXIICurtain Wall to the Untere Donaubastion with Stuttgarter Tor and Friedrichsautor1845–55Only the glacis is preserved, all other parts were demolished in 1903–04
XXIIICounterguard Untere Donaubastion1845–55Completely levelled
XXIVUntere Donaubastion1845–55Reduit preserved, all other parts were demolished
XXVOberer Donauturm1845–55Completely preserved
XXVIObere Stadtkehle with Ländetor1845–55Partially preserved
XXVIIUntere Stadtkehle1843–55Partially preserved
XXVIIIUnterer Donauturm1843–55Completely preserved

Forts
Work No.NameBuiltToday's shape
XXIXUnterer Kuhberg1846–58Nearly completely preserved, area built-up
XXXHorn work1846–58Completely preserved
XXXIMittlerer Kuhberg1855–57Ruined in 1944 by an explosion caused by a supposed blind shell, ruins demolished in 1962.
XXXIIOberer Kuhberg11848–57Completely preserved
XXXIIISöflinger Turm1855–56Preserved, but ruinous
XXXIVUnterer Eselsberg1848–56Completely preserved
XXXV2Oberer Eselsberg Subwork1883–87Completely preserved
XXXVI3Lehrer Turm1848–50Demolished in 1876–78
XXXVIOberer Eselsberg Main work1883-87Only parts of it are preserved, most of the fort was demolished in 1971.
XXXVIIPrittwitz (first named Avancé)1847-54Completely preserved
XXXVIIIÖrlinger Turm1850–52Completely preserved
XXXIXAlbeck1846–59Preserved, but ruinous
XLSafranberg1855–58Completely preserved
XLIFriedrichsau1852–54Nearly completely preserved

1) The Fort Oberer Kuhberg was also an early concentration camp between 1933 and 1935. One well-known prisoner was the SPD politician Kurt Schumacher.

2) That work no. was planned to be a turret in the Ruhe valley, which was not built for financial reasons.

3) The work no. was passed to Fort Oberer Eselsberg Hauptwerk in 1881.

City circumvallation
NameBuiltToday's shape
Half bastion 1 with Augsburger Tor1844–54Train pillbox, parts of the glacis and one flank battery preserved, all other parts were demolished in 1958–60
Curtain wall with caponniere 21844–54Gradually demolished between 1903 and 1958
Bastion 31844–54Gradually demolished between 1903 and 1958
Curtain wall with caponniere 41844–54Demolished before 1945, the caponniere was restored in 2006–08
Bastion 5 with war hospital1844–54Nearly completely preserved
Curtain wall with caponniere 61844–54Completely preserved
Bastion 7 with powder magazine II1844–54Completely preserved
Curtain wall with caponniere 81844–54Nearly completely preserved
Half bastion 9 with Memminger Tor1844–54Nearly completely preserved

Forts
NameBuiltToday's shape
12 Schwaighofen1850–53Nearly completely preserved, but deformed by additional buildings
13 Ludwigsvorfeste1850–53Completely preserved
14 Illerkanal1850–53Completely preserved

The fort 10 (near Offenhausen) and the gun turret 11 on the railroad Ulm – Munich were not built for cost reasons. The plans for work XLI Friedrichsau had to be changed for this. Work 14 was to be work 15, between 13 and 15 a small fort was planned and later also canceled. The fort Illerkanal was nameless until the completion of the Iller channel in 1906. An additional fort near Pfuhl was planned in the mid-1860s, but cancelled due to the dissolution of the German Confederation. Instead of the fort the infantry base Kapellenberg was built in the 1900s (see below).

Expansion of fortification between 1881 and 1914

As the weapons were improved, the fortress had to be improved too. On Fort Oberer Kuhberg, the front wall and side towers were reduced in height, and around many forts, infantry fences were installed. Two new forts were built on the Eselsberg (see #Forts).

1901–1910

Between 1901 and 1910 several new buildings were constructed to support the fortress. These buildings were (beginning with Böfingen and moving counterclockwise around Ulm):

NameBuiltLocationToday's shape
Infantry base Böfingen1903–04Alfred-Delp-Weg, BöfingenCompletely demolished
Infantry base Haslach1901–02Heidenheimer Straße, east of ÖrlingenCompletely demolished
Infantry base Jungingen east1901–02east of Albstraße, JungingenOverbuilt
Infantry base Jungingen center1901–02Albstraße / Franzenhauser Weg, JungingenCompletely demolished
Infantry base Jungingen west1901–02Stuttgarter Straße, JungingenCompletely demolished
Infantry base Spitzäcker1908–10Lerchenfeldstraße, north of LehrCompletely demolished
Infantry base Lehr1905–07Tobelstraße, west of LehrCompletely demolished
Infantry base Weinberge1901–02east of Heilmeyersteige, EselsbergCompletely demolished
Infantry base Gleißelstetten1901–02Hasensteige, SöflingenCompletely demolished
Infantry base Kapellenberg1907–09Narzissenweg, PfuhlOverbuilt

1914–1916

The last major expansion of the front line took place in the first years of World War I. 93 works were to be built or improved, the majority of them were never actually constructed or completed. The numbering began with the trench 1 between Obertalfingen and Böfingen, went counterclockwise around Ulm and Neu-Ulm and ended with trench 78 on the other side of the Danube. Between the bases 21 and 22 was the trench 21a. In the south an own front line was to be installed, consisting of the bases 3c near Ludwigsfeld and 2b south of Wiblingen, and the trenches 2a, 3a, 3a II, 4a, 4a II, 1b, 1b II, 3b, 4b, 1c and 2c.

74 of these works were to be trenches. The works 3, 8, 14, 18, 21, 37, 45, 54, 58, 63, 76, 2b and 3c were to be infantry bases. Only the bases 45 in the Maienwäldle and 58 south of Neu-Ulm are completely preserved. The bases Spitzäcker, Lehr, Weinberge and Kapellenberg and the forts Oberer Eselsberg Hauptwerk and Oberer Eselsberg Nebenwerk were improved and integrated in the numbering system as works 22, 26, 32, 70, 29 and 30 respectively.

Furthermore 20 artillery rooms, 10 munition rooms, 4 pump stations and 9 so-called "Zwischenraumstreichen", which could cover long gaps between some works, were built behind the front lines. Of them only the pump station Buchbrunnen and the Zwischenraumstreiche 6 exist still today.

Infrastructure buildings

In Ulm and Neu-Ulm were several buildings bought or built for the garrisons.

Name or functionBuiltLocation
Fortress construction administrationBought in 1842Building Reichenauer Hof, Donaustraße, Ulm
Fortress construction yard1845–48Silcherstraße, Neu-Ulm
Commissariat Ulm1860–62Frauenstraße / Karlstraße, Ulm
Commissariat Neu-Ulm1849–64Silcherstraße / Krankenhausstraße, Neu-Ulm
Chevauxlegers barracks1865–67Flößerweg / Silcherstraße, Neu-Ulm
Karl barracks1860–63Between Karlstraße, Zeitblomstraße, Syrlinstraße and Keplerstraße, Ulm
Kienlesberg barracks1865–68Kienlesbergstraße, Ulm
Maximilian barracks1860–67Between Maximilianstraße, Kasernstraße, Bahnhofstraße and Ludwigstraße, Neu-Ulm
Schiller barracks1882–91Between Böblinger Straße and Söflinger Straße, Ulm
Sedan barracks1909–16Between Sedanstraße and Wörthstraße, Ulm
Hospital Gaisenberg1862–66Eythstraße / Prittwitzstraße, Ulm
Hospital Neu-Ulm1862–66Krankenhausstraße, Neu-Ulm
Imperial fortification1876–79Between Zeitblomstraße and Schaffnerstraße, Ulm
Military prison1889Frauenstraße / Holzstraße, Ulm
Civilist prisonAround 1890Talfinger Straße / Wielandstraße, Ulm
Protestant garrison church1908–10Frauenstraße, Ulm
Catholic garrison church1902–04Frauenstraße / Olgastraße, Ulm

Furthermore several officer's messes, powder magazines, artillery depots and the like were erected. Some of the buildings still stand today, but are used differently with exceptions: The civilian prison is still in use today as a place of detention and the churches were opened for the citizens as Pauluskirche (Protestant) and St. Georg (catholic).

  • In the Wilhelmsburg
  • Caponniere 4 in Neu-Ulm
  • Obere Donaubastion in Ulm
  • West mountain front below the Wilhelmsburg
  • Base 58 von 1914 south of Neu-Ulm
  • In the base 58

References

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