Napoleonic Fortress Ramparts in Serock
One of the most interesting monuments
in Serock are the remnants of the ancient
Napoleonic Fortress, including a well-preserved
natural bastion at Pułtuska Street
(next to the football field). It dates back
to 1811, to the second phase of expansion
of the Serock fortress, and is visible on the
fortification restructuring plans by Colonel
Jan Mallet.
The creation of the fortress in Serock was associated with the Napoleonic concept of construction of a triangle of fortresses: Warsaw-Modlin Serock. They would allow a shield for the concentration of Napoleon’s army and defend the Narew River crossings. On January 8, 1807, Napoleon gave the order to start the construction works in Serock and other strongholds of the triangle defence. Groundwork and defensive fortifications between Napoleońska and Zdrojowa streets date back to this period. The government of the Duchy of Warsaw paid for the construction works of the fortress in Serock, from September 1807 to January 1809, the sum of 523 000 Polish zlotys, i.e. more than the construction work of the Modlin fortress. Such extensive fortifications served in 1807 the Colonel Stanislaw Potocki, the commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, as a base for skirmishes with the Russians in Nowa Wieś and Zatory, and in 1809, General Józef Niemojewski as a base for skirmishes against the Austrians. By March 1811, thanks to the efforts of Marshal Louis Davout, the fortress in Serock was expanded in its northern part. Thanks to the memoirs of General Caulaincourt and first lieutenant Stanislaw Dunin-Wąsowicz, we know that the Emperor Napoleon I stopped in Serock on December 10, 1812, during the retreat from Moscow, and viewed the defensive fortifications of the fortress.
The creation of the fortress in Serock was associated with the Napoleonic concept of construction of a triangle of fortresses: Warsaw-Modlin Serock. They would allow a shield for the concentration of Napoleon’s army and defend the Narew River crossings. On January 8, 1807, Napoleon gave the order to start the construction works in Serock and other strongholds of the triangle defence. Groundwork and defensive fortifications between Napoleońska and Zdrojowa streets date back to this period. The government of the Duchy of Warsaw paid for the construction works of the fortress in Serock, from September 1807 to January 1809, the sum of 523 000 Polish zlotys, i.e. more than the construction work of the Modlin fortress. Such extensive fortifications served in 1807 the Colonel Stanislaw Potocki, the commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, as a base for skirmishes with the Russians in Nowa Wieś and Zatory, and in 1809, General Józef Niemojewski as a base for skirmishes against the Austrians. By March 1811, thanks to the efforts of Marshal Louis Davout, the fortress in Serock was expanded in its northern part. Thanks to the memoirs of General Caulaincourt and first lieutenant Stanislaw Dunin-Wąsowicz, we know that the Emperor Napoleon I stopped in Serock on December 10, 1812, during the retreat from Moscow, and viewed the defensive fortifications of the fortress.