VLADIVOSTOK

MUSEUMS. Vladivostok Fortress Museum 

Vladivostok fortress is a system of various defensive strengthening plus the advanced infrastructure (highway and railways, warehouse, air station, cable lines, an arsenal, refrigerators and so on). The fortress occupies the whole Muraviev-Amursky peninsula, Russian and Popov islands, as a whole – about 400 square kilometers and it’s more than city constructions of Vladivostok. The fortress consists of several fortifications surrounding the city and neighboring islands, it includes an underground labyrinth in the ceter of the city, forts, intermediate strongholds, and coastal battery storehouses. Vladivostok Fortress was a unique fortress of this kind not only in Russia. In 1919 a famous English newspaper "Times" wrote that Vladivostok Fortress was considered the world's best maritime defense structure and that its fortifications were a great example of military engineering skills. 

Unique Vladivostok underground marine fortress was constructed at the end of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th centuries. Vladivostok Fortress had been built for 40 years. The positions of batteries and the general coastal defense outline, so aptly designated by P. F. Unterberger in 1877, remained unchanged during later (after twenty years) reconstruction, when the wood-and-earth fortifications were replaced by those made of concrete. 

During the Russia-Japan War the fortress supported the combat actions of the Vladivostok Cruiser Task Force on the sea communications of Japan, providing the fleet with reliable shelter and guarding the territory of Primorye against enemy’s invasion. 

In the period of 1910 to 1916 the fortress was drastically reinforced: seven forts were constructed, more than 30 coast-defense batteries were newly built or reconstructed, 23 counter-landing caponiers, 13 tunnel-type powder magazines, a casemate for meat cold storage, an airfield, and over 200 kilometers of new highway roads. Vladivostok has turned out to be a kind of “Firing range” for the national and eventually, the world fortification science. 

Today you can see the nice panorama of Amur Bay and of a central part of Vladivostok city from the territory of the museum and you'll be also impressed with the underground passageways and the forts that are visible from the center of the city. 

For visiting the following parts of the fortress are accessible:
- the fort # 7
- the coastal battery Anonymous (the Museum “the Vladivostok fortress” )
- the battery of Varashilov of the Russian island
- the battery Bezymyannaya 

Fort# 7 is one of the most popular excursion objects of Vladivostok. It was named after the first son of the last Russian Emperor, Alexey Nikolaevich. One of underground forts of the main line of defense is located at the 164 meters’ mountain (about 15 km north of the downtown). The fort of the 1910 has a lot structures, most part of which is situated undergorund. There is no analog in the world practice. Fort# 7 was recognized by foreign experts "the work of engineer art" in early years of its existance.

The battery Bezymyannaya constructed in 1885 is one of the most popular parts of he Fortress. It's located near the downtown area. Recently it was restored and turned into museum. If you are interested in history and military engineering you can visit an exposition displaying military maps and plans, arms and equipment as well as old and modern photographs. If you come here at 12.00 you will attend a dry shot of a gun - a local tradition to mark noon every day.