Construction of the Warsaw Citadel began in 1832 at the personal request of Tsar Nicholas I after the suppression of the November Uprising. An earth and brick fortress was erected in the shape of a bastion surrounded by a moat. The expansion of these fortifications and their modernisation happened in stages and lasted for decades which included the interiors (bastions, gun emplacements, gates, barracks and shelters) and also the exterior which resulted in a ring of forts that have survived to this day (Fort Traugutt, Fort Sokolnicki and Fort Jasinski).

With the expansion of the city the fortress also expanded polygonally especially on the left bank of the River Vistula. Some of these forts have survived to this day but their former functions have been obliterated. One of the better preserved is Fort Mokotow with the so-called Mokotow moat, situated to the west of the fort. The structure is located in the region of Raclawice Street.

The buildings of the former barracks that have survived include bunkers, shelters and gunpowder warehouses but are currently used for other purposes. Fort M-Tsche was also linked to it, which was located in Wierzbno on Odyniec Street, though the layout is not known exactly, today the streets follow the fortress roads of which Raclawice Street was such a road.

Citadel – Warsaw (woj. Mazowieckie)

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