Daugavpils Fortress, also known as Dinaburg Fortress, is a fortress

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 in Daugavpils

Daugavpils

Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...

, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

. It is the only early 19th century military fortification of its kind in Northern Europe that has been preserved without significant alterations. Planning of the fortress began in 1772 by decree of Tsar Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

, shortly after the First Partition of Poland

First Partition of Poland

The First Partition of Poland or First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. Growth in the Russian Empire's power, threatening the Kingdom of Prussia and the...

 when Latvia ceded to Russia and construction began during Napoleon

Napoleon I of France

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

's attack of the Russian Empire in 1810. Construction of the fortress, despite lengthy delays, serious floodings and slow construction work, was completed in 1878.

History

General facts and information:

• 10,000 workers built the fortress in two shifts.
• In 1812, the fortress was attacked by the French Army of 24,000 men. The fortress was still under construction and was defended by 3300 men and 200 cannons.
• The fortress was a significant, modern military centre of the Russian Empire
  Russian Empire
  The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
  
  .
• For a long time it was a defense base of the western frontier of the Russian Empire.
• The direct route taken by Russian nobles and Royalty from St. Petersburg (then capital of the Russian Empire) to Europe led right through the city of Daugavpils (then named Dinaburg) and Daugavpils Fortress was the place of rest for many nobles including tsars Alexander I, Nicolas I, Alexander II, Alexander III and Russia’s last tsar Nicolas II.
• Latvian independence was officially recognised by Soviet Russia
  Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
  The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
  
   in 1920 and between 1920 and 1940 the fortress became home of the Latvian army.
• During World War II
  World War II
  World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
  
  , the hostage camp Stalag
  Stalag
  In Germany, stalag was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschafts-Stammlager.- Legal definitions :...
  
  340 was set up in the fortress.
• 1948–1994 – The Soviet army was dislocated in the fortress.
• 1998 – The fortress came under the authority of the State Real Estate Agency of Latvia.
• 2004 – The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia decided to sell the fortress either in parts or as one whole. The fortress's future remains uncertain.

• Urban-travel.org @ The Dinaburg Fortress