Fortress Düsseldorf

The city of Düsseldorf was already surrounded by a wall and moat when it was founded in 1288. In the 14th century, a stone wall with towers and gatehouses was added. With the advent of firearms in the late Middle Ages, the medieval wall was initially reinforced with roundels around 1500. At the beginning of the 16th century, the estates decided to develop Düsseldorf into a state fortress, so extensive bastioned fortifications were subsequently built around the city. In the first third of the 16th century, the citadel was also added in the south of the city, but it was never used militarily.

In the late 17th century, during the time of Jan Wellem, Düsseldorf was a well-developed fortress and garrison city. This was necessary given the warlike times. In 1672, troops of the French King Louis XIV made their first advance to the Rhine, and in 1689, Louis XIV invaded the Palatinate, which he thoroughly devastated. But there was also fighting on the Rhine, with Bonn and Kaiserswerth being destroyed, and Düsseldorf being put on alert.

At that time, Jan Wellem had the "Düsselburg" fort built on the left bank of the Rhine, in the territory of Electoral Cologne, so that enemies could not shoot into the unfortified city from there. In the meantime, cannons had been further developed so that they could easily shoot across the river. Also in 1702, when Kaiserswerth was again completely destroyed, the war moved dangerously close to the city. During this time, the fortifications had been further expanded. For example, the "New Work" had been built as a large bastion in the north.

In the course of the planned enlargement of the city after 1699, fortifications were also built in the southeast to accommodate the new barracks and the Hubertus Hospital in the "Extension," the city expansion. A further expansion of the Düsseldorf fortress to the planned size initially failed due to a lack of funds. Then the sudden death of Jan Wellem in 1716 brought the project to a temporary end.

After Jan Wellem's death, his successors continued to expand the Düsseldorf fortress. However, it did not prove its worth either during the bombardment in the Seven Years' War in 1758 or in the Revolutionary Wars in 1794. In 1801, the defenses were razed by the French, and the bastions and fortifications were converted into parks and gardens. Only the citadel, which had already been built upon since the 17th century, remained at least partially preserved as a testament to the former fortifications.