Basic information
Fort XIII Nová Ulice is a part of a massive fort wreath, unique in the whole Czech Republic, part of the famous military history of Olomouc.
The construction of the fort began in 1851 on the western outpost of the fortress with the task of closing the traditional and most advantageous place to attack the Olomouc walls: the Tabula Hill. A private construction company of the Klein brothers participated in the construction, the building was completed structurally by 1854 and the fort was equipped with a telegraph in 1854.
Fort XIII did not differ in shape and construction, except for details, from Fort XVII, which was built in parallel. The reduit (barracks building) of rubble masonry includes valuable architectural elements such as sandstone lining, battlements and bay windows. In 1866, during the Prusso-Austrian War, the fortress was equipped with 26 cannons and 410 men served there. Fort XIII was not exposed to enemy attack in 1866 or at any time thereafter.
In normal times, 90 soldiers served here, and in times of exercises and manoeuvres, about 230. After the abolition of the fortress status of the town of Olomouc in 1886, the fort was used as a warehouse for various materials, including weapons, and for a short time during the First Czechoslovak Republic even as a breeding station for pigs.
The sad chapter of the fort’s history is the very end of the war. In May 1945, 17 patriots from Kozusany were executed in this building. This tragic event is commemorated by a memorial plaque in the place where the graves of the victims were found in the fort’s moat.
Fort XIII Nová Ulice is an immovable cultural monument. At present the building is in private ownership and is open to the public. Visitors can see heavy pieces of contemporary military equipment and a giant model of the Imperial-Royal Olomouc Fortress