{"id":51074,"date":"2023-04-04T00:14:40","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T22:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=51074"},"modified":"2023-04-06T17:30:46","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T15:30:46","slug":"fort-musil-one-of-the-fortresses-of-the-largest-naval-base-of-the-austro-hungarian-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2023\/04\/04\/fort-musil-one-of-the-fortresses-of-the-largest-naval-base-of-the-austro-hungarian-empire\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Musil: one of the fortresses of the largest naval base of the Austro-Hungarian Empire"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Adriatic Sea is today a beautiful tourist destination, but for centuries it was a great battlefield between the countries that share it.<\/p>\n

Fort Soledad: one of the most remote military positions that Spain had<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe bunkers of the 'Lange Max', a huge German cannon from the World War I<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

One of those countries, now defunct, was the Austro-Hungarian Empire<\/strong>, which included present-day Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and also a part of Italy, Poland, Romania , Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro. Because of this, that Empire had an important coastline that stretched from Trieste (now Italy) to the Bay of Kotor (now Montenegro).<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Austro-Hungarian Navy had a considerable fleet <\/strong>, among which its 13 battleships stood out. That fleet had its main naval base at Pula (now Croatia)<\/strong>, which was a true fortified city<\/strong>, with an extensive network of artillery batteries and other coastal defenses.<\/p>\n

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One of those coastal defenses was Fort Musil<\/strong>, located in the southwest of the Musil Peninsula, 81 meters above sea level. The main structure was a circular fortress with a diameter of meters<\/strong>. Its construction began in 1852 and was completed in 1914, coinciding with the start of the First World War.<\/p>\n

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The main circular fort was surrounded by a moat<\/strong>, which in turn was protected by several walls. Access to the fort was from the southwest.<\/p>\n

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In 1909 coastal batteries were built on the cliffs near the fort<\/strong>. These shore artillery positions were connected by a network of tunnels. Today they are dismembered, but the tunnels are preserved in good condition, especially if we compare them with other coastal batteries.<\/p>\n

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In 1918, after the Austro-Hungarian defeat in World War I, Pula was taken by Italy<\/strong>, along with the entire region of Istria. The city was renamed Pola.<\/p>\n

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In 1943, after Italy changed sides, the Germans took Pula and turned it into a submarine base<\/strong>, which was repeatedly bombed by the Allies. The Germans used Fort Musil for coastal defense. At the end of the war, Pula was conquered by the British and Americans<\/strong> and the area came under the control of a military government set up by the Allies.<\/p>\n

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Finally, in 1947 Pula was taken over by Yugoslavia<\/strong>, and as a consequence most of its Italian inhabitants moved to Italy. Fort Musil became a military position of the Yugoslav Army <\/strong> until 1991, due to the independence of Croatia.<\/p>\n

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Fort Musil continued to be used by the Croatian Army until 2008, and has since been abandoned<\/strong> (according to DPR-Barcelona<\/a>), although the Croatian Ministry of Defense retains ownership of the facilities.<\/p>\n

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Today, Fort Musil has become an ideal destination for urban explorers<\/strong>, and also the scene of combat between airsoft fans.<\/p>\n

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You can see here a video published yesterday by Tattooed Traveler<\/a> in which he goes through some of the tunnels of this ancient fortress:<\/p>\n