Urbex near Warsaw - The Modlin Fortress
If you go on a trip to Warsaw and want to take a break from the hustle and bustle, you have to visit the nearby Modlin. You can find there one of the largest fortresses in Poland. It’s a complex of fortifications and contains elements of French, Russian and Polish fortifications. The fortress was defended many times. First time in 1813, in the Napoleonic era. On 5th February the Russian army arrived in the fortress. The Polish soldiers defended the fortress until the 1st of December when they capitulated. The fortress has been used part in more battles during partitions, World War I and World War II. Nowadays the part of the Fortress is available for tourists, but there is a lot of abandoned parts of the complex worth to see as well.
Golden age of the Granary
Undoubtedly, the granary is one of the most interesting abandoned places located on the river Narew. The granary was built in the Neo-Renaissance style according to the architect Jan Jakub Gay project. From the Narew side, the building had three open portals. The largest, central portal was equipped with lifting devices, with stairs reaching the water table. On the southern part, from the mainland, the granary had only one centrally located portal. The building on the first floor had holes adapted to conduct artillery fire so that it had a defensive function. The building was used as a granary until 1853. Next, it was bought by the then military authorities and included as a part of Modlin Fortress.
World War II - Hard Time for the Modlin Fortress
Of course, the war did not spare the fortress. The forces of the German Second Army Corps came there on September 10, 1939. Three days later the fortress had been forced by the troops of the “Łódź” Army commanded by General Wiktor Thommée. For the next two weeks, the fortress was besieged by the German forces, which had numerical superiority. The fortress was attacked, shelled and bombarded from the air. The soldiers defended it until September 29, when Warsaw capitulated and the further fights were pointless.
The granary had been attacked as well. During the bombing, the granary was burned inside by incendiary bombs, but thanks to the thick walls, the construction survived. After the war, at the behest of the communist authorities, the demolition of the granary had been started. After destroying the west wing of the building, demolition was stopped by prof. Jan Zachwatowicz, the chief architect of Warsaw rebuilding.
Majestic Ruins - Granary on the Narew River
This is not the end of the story. If you would like to continue it, just visit Modlin in Poland. You can visit the Fortress during the regular guided tour. But if you are interested in urban exploration, you must visit the Granary. It’s an obligatory point on the urbex map of each brick-buildings-lover. We fell in love with these majestic ruins. We took a lot of photos there and we hope you’ll enjoy them.
See you in Modlin!
