Beneath the fortified city Terezín (CZ) lies one of Europe’s most sophisticated historical defensive systems. Recent research has provided a detailed mapping of this underground network, revealing its complexity and […]

This article offers suggestions on how to collaborate with universities.  These suggestions are intended for managers and curators of fortified heritage sites, including castles, fortified towns, lines of fortifications, fortified […]

In 2026, Josefov proudly celebrates a remarkable milestone: 100 years since the first official guided tours of its underground corridors began.

A new year is a good moment to pause and ask where we are going as a network. For FORTE CULTURA, 2026 will be important: we are preparing our application […]

The cross-border interreg project FORT‑UNION is carried out by a coalition of partners: Municipality of Giżycko, Kaunas City Municipal Administration, Kaunas Fortress Park, Army Museum in Białystok, Boyen Fortress in Giżycko, Varėna District Municipality and associated organizations: Biebrza National Park, and Varėna’s Entrepreneurship Education Centre (among others). 

The Czech-German Future Fund supports joint projects between Czech and German partners, with the aim of strengthening good neighbourly relations, mutual understanding, and cooperation. The fund finances a wide range […]

After two years of work, the restoration of the pipe organ in the Church of the Assumption in Josefov has been successfully completed. The project, launched in July 2024, was carried out under a contract with the renowned organ builder Ivan Bok from Krnov. All restoration works were undertaken with full respect for the church’s status as a protected cultural monument since 1958 and under the expert supervision of diocesan organologist Václav Uhlíř and…

Sharing Tools, Strategies and Good Practices On 16 December 2025, FORTE CULTURA held its annual Online Member Meeting (OMM), bringing together fortress managers, researchers and partners from across Europe to […]

In April 2026, a new call will be launched under the URBACT IV programme, with possilbe involvment of fortress-related topics and members of FORTE CULTURA and EFFORTS Europe.

The first cross-border EFFORTS traveling network congress was organized from 2 to 4 December 2025. The theme of the congress was ‘Inspiring across borders’. On a three-day travelling congress, 50 EFFORTS-members met each other in the EFFORTS member cities of Oudenaarde (BE), Arras (FR) and Bergen op Zoom (NL).

Our network is built on connection — across borders, across disciplines, and across experiences. The Online Member Meeting (OMM) is where those connections come alive.

FORTE CULTURA participated in Spain’s leading congress on fortifications, presenting its vision for sustainable cultural tourism and building new partnerships with national heritage organizations.

Group photo of the tour participants in front of the bastioned castle in Marvão Photo: H.-R. Neumann, 25 September 2025 Military architecture is an important part of Portugal’s architectural and […]

We are happy to inform you that National Institute for Protection of Monuments of Culture and Museum – Ohrid (FORTE CULTURA member) is the winner of the prestigious Živa Award 2025 for the “Best Slavic Heritage Site”.

The historical dynamics of the Alicante region between the 11th and 15th centuries resulted in the proliferation of castles and towers in the mountains.

FORTE CULTURA is proud to announce a new partnership with Reveel, a digital platform designed to transform the visitor experience at cultural and heritage sites. After a fruitful meeting with the Reveel founders, Sebastian Mellblom and Robin Kanerva, and our network members, we are excited to invite all FORTE CULTURA members to explore this innovative solution.

The Dracula Journey is one of the most successful history-oriented events organized in the fortified ideal city Josefov (CZ). The event takes place in early November and spans two evenings, capturing the spooky and eerie emotions associated with this time of year.

From September 15 to 16, 2025, the National Park Brijuni in Croatia served as the backdrop for the international scientific conference titled “Fortified Architecture for the Culture of Peace – European Best Practice in Fortified Heritage Management”.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Fortress Study Group (FSG), an international symposium with excursions was held in Portsmouth, UK. FORTE CULTURA was represented by Natasa Urosevic, Olha Tikhonova […]

The Citadel of Alessandria was designed by Ignazio Bertola on behalf of Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy after the Treaty of Utrecht. Built between 1728 and 1732 by King Charles […]

We made it! On June 21, 2025, our exhibition “Königstein: The Safest Fortress of Germany” was solemnly opened in the City Wall Museum of Nanjing – and we were present there with a small delegation.

Belfort was fortified from 1687 according to Vauban’s plans and subsequently extended. The fortress played a particularly important role in the 103-day siege of Belfort in 1870/71, one of the […]

At the end of May, Polish and German experts on the fortress heritage of the 20th century met in the tranquil town of Walcz. A two-day conference with excursions shed […]

In the sunlit hills of Benalmádena, Spain, a curious silhouette rises—not from the Middle Ages, but from the twilight of the 20th century. Castillo de Colomares, built between 1987 and […]

In the enchanting fortified ideal city of Josefov, history isn’t just remembered—it comes alive. On July 12–13, 2024, Josefov Alive (Oživlý Josefov) turned time back to the golden age of […]

by Dirk Röder Small Projects Fund (KPF) 2021-2027The development and establishment of the “History Trail War Events 1945” was funded as part of the project “Remembering Together – 80 Years […]

The FORTMED 2025 Congress, dedicated to the fortification heritage, convened in Caserta (Italy) with significant academic participation: 411 attendees and 197 papers were presented.

Cultural heritage and creativity for sustainable and inclusive tourism in fortified monuments; 26-29 March 2025, Fort di Bard (IT). Europe is facing major challenges in terms of sustainability, identity and social engagement…

Dirk Röder (left) congratulates Filippo Cailotto on his new position as FORTE CULTURA President The FORTE CULTURA General Assembly 2025 took place on 27 March 2025 at the Forte di […]

Illustrated with the Fort St. Elmo case study by John Ebejer There are various approaches to the conservation of built heritage and adaptive reuse is one of them.  Adaptive reuse […]

The NEB offers fortress managers, policy makers and cultural organisations a unique opportunity to combine the preservation of cultural heritage with

by Filippo M. Cailotto, The NEB offers fortress managers, policy makers and cultural organisations a unique opportunity to combine the preservation of cultural heritage with …

by Dirk Röder (title photo: XEvansGambitx) Partners and experts on the history of the end of the Second World War met in Krakow (PL) on the occasion of the Liberation […]

In February 2025, Giovanmaria Flocchini, President of the mountain municipality of Valle Sabbia, signed up to the FORTE CULTURA network. The aim is to further develop and valorise the mountain fortress for tourism…

With the Department of Tourism Management of the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accounting at the University of Malta, FORTE CULTURA has a strong partner…

Creative Tourism is an innovative approach that goes beyond passive sightseeing and promotes new perspectives through immersive and participatory experiences.

Around the world in three days – International Tourism Fair Berlin: The ITB is one of the largest tourism fairs in the world and a good opportunity for FORTE CULTURA to […]

The Soratte bunker is an underground bunker complex in the Italian municipality of Sant’Oreste, about 50 kilometres north of Rome. It was built between 1937 and 1943 in the Monte […]

European Cultural Heritage Experts to Gather in Italy to Explore Sustainable and Inclusive Tourism for Fortified Sites Forte di Bard, one of Europe’s most prestigious fortified heritage sites, will host […]

Daugavpils Fortress (Dünaburg, Dwinsk) is located on the banks of the Daugava River in southeastern Latvia. It was built in 1810-1878 and, as a fortified ideal city with an area […]

Author: Tomáš Jirouch The fortified cities of Terezín and Josefov, with their rich historical and architectural heritage, are among the most significant cultural landmarks in the Czech Republic. Over the […]

The Suomenlinna sea fortress is located about 15 minutes by sea from Helsinki. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an outstanding example of European military architecture of its […]

Büdingen tour guides train for the FORTE CULTURA certificate (Photo: Arnika Haury) On the initiative of the Büdingen tourist information centre under the direction of Arnika Haury, around 20 tour […]

Fort Prusy (Fort Prussia) is part of the Nysa Fortress in the Opole Voivodeship. The Nysa fortress was a key element of the Prussian defence system on the former border […]

The Fortress Study Group CIO (FSG) was founded in the UK in 1975 and is a registered charity dedicated to the study and preservation of fortifications from the artillery era […]

ERASMUS+ Projekt „Nachhaltige Befestigungsanlagen als Lernzentrum für Senioren“ der Kulturfestung Festung Šibenik (Kroatien/Šibenik), gemeinsam mit Asociatia Mioritics (Rumänien/Constanța) und Viešoji įstaiga Kauno tvirtovės parkas (Litauen/Kaunas). Das Projekt Sustain4Seniors Hub wird […]

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of FORTE CULTURA, 60 participants from 9 countries came together at the founding location Kostrzyn nad Odrą (PL) to celebrate the anniversary. The two-and-a-half-day congress programme consisted of two conference parts and exciting excursions to the fortress heritage in the German-Polish Oder-Warthe region.

“FORTE CULTURA – Discover the cultural heritage of fortress monuments in the Euroregion PRO EUROPA VIADRINA (DE-PL)” – a joint project of City of Kostrzyn nad Odrą, FORTE CULTURA e.V. […]

The EFFORTS Annual Congress 2024 took place as part of the FORTIC (Interreg Italy – Croatia) project at St John’s Fortress in Šibenik (HR).

HERITAGE OF ROUTES, NETWORKS AND CONNECTIONS Workshop FORTIFICATION ARCHITECTURE FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE: VALORIZATION OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN FORTIFICATIONS THROUGH CULTURAL ROUTES AND TRANSNATIONAL NETWORKS der Universität Pula, der TU […]

The unknown fortress – “Stelling van Amsterdam” (by Hans-Rudolf Neumann); From 28 September to 5 October 2024, a pilot and study tour took place with seven international experts from Germany, Switzerland, […]

The Franzensfeste fortress has guarded the Brenner Pass on the Italian side since 1838. With its 65,000 square metres of building space, it is the largest historical complex in South […]

Unfortunately, the current flood situation in Eastern Europe has also left its mark on the fortress monuments there. In Ostrava in the Czech Republic, the River Oder burst its banks […]

On a tour of the mid-south of the USA, Dirk Röder sought contact with various fortress sites and museums of military history. In Vicksburg Mississippi the Vicksburg National Military Park […]

Cover photo: The board and advisory board of the Friends’ Association present the new leaflet The Förderverein Bayerische Landesfestung Ingolstadt e.V. has published a large leaflet on Fort Prinz Karl. […]

A travelogue by Friedrich Wein Kehl – Strasbourg – Nancy – Toul – Reims – Versailles and finally: Normandy. The names and number of interesting places with fortress monuments and […]

FORTE CULTURA donates a notebook to the partner fortress Medzhybizh in the Ukraine.

Kiev Fortress is a monumental complex of former Russian fortresses from the 17th-19th centuries. The complex is one of the largest preserved fortresses in Europe. Visitors can see a unique […]

The impressive Suomenlinna Fortress hosted this year’s board meeting of EFFORTS (European Federation of Fortfied Sites). In addition to a hybrid meeting to coordinate current and future activities of the […]

by Friedrich Wein Numerous participants at the Interfest Annual General Meeting took the opportunity to visit another fortress city. In the week following the Annual General Meeting, the 5th International […]

by Friedrich Wein “The study group for international fortification, military and protective construction INTERFEST … has set itself the task of researching and documenting fortifications worldwide under historical, technical, political […]

by Dr. Hans-Rudolf Neumann From 6 to 12 April 2024, a German-Swiss-Dutch specialist group led by Dr Hans-Rudolf Neumann visited both the Turkish and Greek parts of the separate fortress […]

Cultural heritage fortified monuments –a building block in the history of the DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT in Europe 8 – 10 April 2024, Strasbourg (FR) The history of democracy is the history […]

The FORTE CULTURA General Assembly 2024 took place on 8 April 2024 in Strasbourg in the building of the Collectivité européenne d’Alsace (Alsace European Community), with a view of parts […]

For the second time after a long Corona break, the International Tourism Fair – ITB – 2024 took place again at the exhibition centre under the radio tower in Berlin […]

(Photo: ©Hagai Agmon Snir) The Bard fortress is one of the masterpieces of fortress architecture from the first half of the 19th century. After Napoleon had completely destroyed a previous […]

Join the third edition of the Night of Fortresses – online applications are open until mid-April! The Night of Fortresses, an event that connects and promotes programs at fortification locations […]

The fortified ideal town of Sabbioneta was built between 1554-1571 and was one of the first of its kind in Europe. It was also the first autonomous town foundation of […]

23 participants from 6 countries informed each other about current projects and activities in their fortress locations at the first FORTE CULTURA Online Member Meeting (OMM) at the end of […]

Oleg Pogorelets, director of the Ukrainian fortress Medzhybizh, and Dirk Röder (FORTE CULTURA) met at the German–Polish border to exchange news and discuss upcoming activities. Oleg reported on the war and […]

Thanks to a grant from the Aktion Mensch lottery totalling €4,674.50, a new circular route in plain language has been established at Fort Gorgast.

27 members and guests met on the occasion of the annual meeting of the BDB Bezirksgruppe Brandenburg at Fort Gorgast. Opening with welcome remarks by Tino Krebs (Director of the […]

The 10‑day fortress tour, led by Dr. Hans‑Rudolf Neumann, included fortress monuments in Rome and the Lazio province, among them sections of the Campo Trincerato fortress ring in Rome, Castel […]

A medieval festival at Râșnov Fortress was the occasion for an international creative seminar with workshops, aimed at developing sustainable usage and management models for the fortress, which is currently […]

19 partners of the German-French cooperation of fortresses and museums along the Upper Rhine met at the Grindel Hütte Hotel-Restaurant on Hornisgrinde to discuss current topics related to cross-border collaboration. […]

The moated castle of Windischleuba was first established in 925 as a border fortress to protect the neighboring town of Altenburg and was later converted into a fortified manor. For […]

As part of the “#1 Barrier Less” funding programme of the Aktion Mensch lottery, FORTE CULTURA and the fortress town of Germersheim have already developed a circular route for blind […]

The meeting room in the tower of the Ingolstadt Army Museum, dating from 1420, provided the perfect setting to discuss the future of the Bavarian state fortress in connection with […]

The fortresses of Barone, St. John, and St. Michael, managed by “Kulturfestung Šibenik,” have been extensively renovated over the past 10 years and equipped with a wide range of recreational […]

Although there are not “1,001” fortresses in Morocco, the 14‑day pilot and study tour led by Dr. Hans‑Rudolf Neumann nonetheless included more than 20 fascinating fortress monuments in Morocco and […]

Feste Kaiser Franz receives a leaflet about the fortress in plain language As part of the “#1 Barrier Less” funding programme of the Aktion Mensch lottery, FORTE CULTURA and the […]

The Bavarian state fortress of Ingolstadt was expanded over five historical periods into the large fortress system seen today. On both sides of the Danube, there are partially very well-preserved […]

Cooperation in the field of fortified cultural heritage in the Adriatic region;Sustainable fortress tourism and integration with FORTE CULTURA;Start of the European Fortress Summer 2023 29-31 March 2023, Šibenik (HR) […]

In the German-Polish border region east of Berlin, the new tourism brand “Erinnerung verbindet” Oder-Warthe has been developed over the past four years. The project, funded under the EU Interreg […]

After a long Corona-related pause, ITB 2023 took place again in early March at the trade fair grounds near the Funkturm in Berlin. FORTE CULTURA took the opportunity to learn […]

The Aktion Mensch Lottery has approved further project funding for FORTE CULTURA e.V. to remove barriers, this time at Fort Gorgast (DE). An amount of €4,674.50 was granted for the […]

Râșnov Fortress (Rosenau) is picturesquely situated on a hill above the eponymous town in Transylvania, Romania. The “peasant castle” is a 14th‑century refuge fortress that provided shelter to the local […]

The Provincial Council of A Coruña (Diputación de A Coruña) in Galicia, Spain, invited experts and best practices from across Europe to Ferrol to promote the development of the significant […]

San Marino is one of the oldest republics in the world. The small state in the southwest of the Italian province of Emilia-Romagna also possesses a pronounced fortress heritage, some […]

Fort Gorgast was built at the end of the 19th century and is an outer fort of the former Küstrin Fortress (Kostrzyn nad Odrą, PL). The Prussian Biehler fort is […]

“#1 Barrier Less” is a funding program of the Aktion Mensch lottery that supports inclusive projects with up to €5,000. After FORTE CULTURA has already been able to implement two […]

Around 35 members and guests from seven countries took part in the General Assembly, which was held online. In addition to the detailed reports from the Executive Board and the […]

Josefstadt Fortress is located in Jaroměř, in eastern Bohemia, near the Polish border at the confluence of the Aupa and Mettau rivers into the Elbe. It was built in 1780-87 […]

One of the largest fortresses in Europe now complements the FORTE CULTURA stations in Poland. The Modlin fortress system is located 30 minutes north of Warsaw at the strategically important […]

As European Capital of Culture 2022, Kaunas was the venue for the EFFORTS Europe Annual Congress 2022. Fortress experts from 10 countries came together to talk about European cooperation and […]

Since its launch on 6 April at the FORTE CULTURA Fortress Conference in Terezín (CZ), around 100 fortress events in more than 15 countries took part in the European Fortress […]

Terezín is one of around 50 fortified ideal towns in Europe. Terezín, named after Empress Maria Theresa, was built by the Habsburgs against Prussia in 1780-90 in the area where […]

The Rastatt Museum of Military History (WGM) is located in the south wing of the Residenzschloss in Rastatt and deals with modern German military history. Covering an area of around […]