Jesuit Redoubt

Jesuit Sconce, also known as Jesuit Fort, is a historic trapezoidal fort located in Gdańsk, built by the Prussians between 1843 and 1868. The site has been listed in the register of historical monuments since 1968 and is an example of an early advanced fort of the so-called New Prussian School. The fort is brick-built with the use of innovative concrete structures, which is one of its architectural assets. It is named for its proximity to the Jesuit college and earlier fortifications from the 18th and early 19th centuries. The sconce was designed to defend against artillery threats that could arise if the enemy captured the surrounding hills, which would threaten the southern part of Gdańsk, including the transport-important granaries on Granary Island. Its usage history is poorly documented; it is presumed to have been manned by the Germans until the demilitarization of the Gdańsk fortress in 1920. The fort was damaged in 1945 during fighting, leading to the destruction of the cross-shaped redoubt, and in 2014, a section of the retaining wall collapsed. The site has undergone several phases of use, and in 2014, it was leased to a motorcycle association. In terms of construction, the guardhouses built in 1867 were among the first made using monolithic technology, and the fort features a dry moat with brick escarpments and counterscarps. The site also includes caponiers and shooting galleries for moat defense. Jesuit Sconce, with an area of approximately 10,000 m², not only echoes historical events but also highlights the development of defensive architecture in 19th-century Gdańsk.