Fortress Wilhelmshaven-Fort Rüstersiel

The creation of the city of Wilhelmshaven can be traced back to the German-Danish Conflict of 1848, during which the Danish navy blocked German shipping traffic. This led to a demand in Prussia and the North German Confederation for their own navy. Consequently, Prussia purchased the present-day urban area of Wilhelmshaven from the Duchy of Oldenburg on the Jade Bight. However, at that time, these were just meadows and fields.

In 1856, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV approved the construction of workshops and magazines in the Jade area. A short time later, the idea of building warships themselves arose, which led to the expansion of the port facilities with slipways. On June 17, 1869, King Wilhelm I inaugurated the new port facilities with the docks and named the associated "city" Wilhelmshaven.

Since the establishment of the first naval facilities in 1856, fortifications played a paramount role. Even during the planning of the so-called "naval establishment," questions regarding the protection of the naval facilities were considered. Thus, the harbor basin was built 3200 paces away from the Jade fairway, because, according to the technology of the time, this provided protection against enemy ship guns that did not yet have a long range. Coastal batteries, on the other hand, were intended to combat enemy ships.

Until the war of 1870/71, Wilhelmshaven was secured with numerous coastal batteries and field redoubts, but this war and the technical advancement of weapons showed that the entire planning had to be rethought. Until World War I, the three large forts Rüstersiel, Schaar, and Mariensiel, and the small Fort Altona were built. Nevertheless, even this ring of fortifications no longer met the requirements, and further small forts and coastal batteries were built. 21 small outer forts were created. These small forts corresponded to the typical Prussian infantry works that were built all over the German Empire at that time. All buildings, batteries, and fortifications were built so low that they were completely hidden from the sea by the dike. Even the lighthouses were built to be foldable so that they could not serve as orientation from the sea side.

This large number of fortifications and forts were not razed to the same extent after World War I as was the case in other cities. In this respect, these facilities could continue to be used or were reclaimed by nature. The entire Wilhelmshaven fortification had never been used until then. This changed abruptly with the outbreak of World War II. The old fortifications were completely outdated but were ideally suited for the development of air defense. Thus, all fortifications were honored again: crews moved in, and anti-aircraft guns were set up.

After World War II, almost all fortifications were blown up by the English occupation forces. Only a few remnants are still visible. The rubble was removed years later.

Fort Rüstersiel

Fort Rüstersiel is one of the three newly built fortifications around Wilhelmshaven. Together with Forts Mariensiel and Schaar, the three fortifications formed a new defense line on the Maade, a so-called "Tief" (deep channel) that served to drain the area. Fort Rüstersiel was built of clinker bricks and had a moat. The armament consisted of two 15cm L/22 cannons, ten 15cm ring cannons, and eleven 12cm cannons. The facility was rebuilt after World War I, as the fort itself was completely outdated. However, it was not modernized but used as a depot for various types of ammunition. After World War II, the British blew up all militarily usable facilities and buildings in 1948. Only a few buildings and warehouses survived the senseless act. Since 1966, the Institute for Bird Research has used the site. For this purpose, old buildings were used, and new ones were built for research. The rest of the site is completely left to itself to create a dense thicket where various native bird species can settle undisturbed. In addition, the blown-up casemates have been prepared for the overwintering of the pond bat. More than 800 pond bats overwinter in the casemates every year! The site is a nature reserve and cannot be entered. an exhibition on bird protection can be visited on Tuesdays from 08:00-13:00 and Thursdays from 13:00 to 17:00.