Grandichi. Grodno fortress, fort No. 13.

Fort No. 13 is the smallest and most mysterious of the forts of the Grodno Fortress, the last fortress of the Russian Empire. It is located in a wooded area near the village of Grandichi, less than 7 km from the Old Castle, near the Neman.

The decree on the construction of a new fortress in Grodno was approved by Emperor Nicholas II on August 4, 1912. According to the original plan, it was planned to build 13 forts, 23 strongpoints and many auxiliary structures, including open batteries, powder depots, an airfield and roads. The Grodno fortress was supposed to become the most modern defensive structure in Russia at that time.

The strategic importance of the fortress was determined by several tasks: blocking the St. Petersburg-Warsaw railway and highway from Augustovo to Lida, preserving crossings over the Neman, and facilitating the offensive in East Prussia. Lieutenant-General M. Kaigorodov, the younger brother of the first builder of the forts, was appointed commandant of the fortress.

Significant funds were allocated for the construction of the fortress: in 1912 - 204,000 rubles, in 1913 - 3,746,000, in 1914 - 5,000,000, in 1915 - 7,000,000 rubles. However, this money was not enough: only one fort No. 4 near the village of Strelchiki cost 2,300,000 rubles at 1913 prices.

Fort No. 13 was the smallest of all: it was supposed to house only one gun, which was supposed to shoot through the "Lithuanian" direction. Its main task was to cover Grodno from the north. By 1915, a parapet and a well-developed gallery system had been built here.

In 1915, when German troops began to push back the Russian army, the fort became the scene of fierce fighting. It was defended by two regiments of the 57th Infantry Division of the Osovetsky Corps and militia squads. On September 3, 1915, during the retreat of Russian troops, the fort was blown up by a military engineer, Captain P.V. Batyushkin, who built it.

For abandoning positions, Commandant Kaigorodov was later accused of a lack of perseverance. In 1920, during the Soviet-Polish War, the ruins of the fort were stormed by a cavalry division under the command of Guy.

Today, Fort No. 13 is a ruin that is interesting to review as part of the fortifications of the First World War era. Since the fort was never completed, the principles of the construction of such structures at the beginning of the 20th century can be traced from its ruins.

The fort is included in tourist routes, including the "Chalk Mountains bicycle route No. 412" and the "Grodno Fortress route No. 416". With the support of the European Union, recreation areas have been equipped here, gazebos and a bicycle shed have been built. Stalactites have formed inside the destroyed concrete walls over 100 years, turning the fort into an analogue of a karst cave.

It is not difficult to find the fort: it is located near the sewage treatment plants of Grodno, next to the final stop of trolleybuses No. 8 and No. 2 at the Grodno Plant of Building Materials. From the turnoff to the sewage treatment plant, a road leads into the forest, along which the fort is no more than 200 meters away. Coordinates: 53.738809, 23.810353.