by Friedrich Wein

"The study group for international fortification, military and protective construction INTERFEST ... has set itself the task of researching and documenting fortifications worldwide under historical, technical, political and social aspects." ©interfest.de

A long journey for most Interfest members, but one that was well worth it. This sums up the Annual General Meeting of the Interfest Study Group in the fortress city of Torun from 17.04.2024 to 20.04.2024.

Due to the Vistula bridges and its location just 12 kilometres from the then German-Russian border, Thorn-Torun was developed into a strong belt fortress during the imperial era.

The participants of the conference found accommodation and food in Fort IV "Graf Yorck". The extensive sightseeing programme took them to the fortress museum, whose windows were fitted with doors from the modern eastern fortifications as splinter protection. With its modern exhibition, the visit was the first highlight of the conference. The artillery museum of the Polish army was just as enticing as the expert guided tour along the old town fortifications with the German Order Castle on the Vistula. The old town centre of Toruń is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as it was fortunately not destroyed at the end of the Second World War. The Thorner Kathrinchen gingerbread speciality was also sold by the members. Rayon houses and the Wilhelminian quarter with the former garrison church showed how dynamically the population developed during the imperial era. Other points of interest were Fort Jakob, Fort I with the Kaiser Wilhelm I fortress and its howitzer battery with four towers, Fort XV and the Museum of Armoured Fortification with its test tower. Another howitzer battery, unfortunately without towers, as well as Forts XII and XI, located in the area of the large Stalag XX_A, rounded off the programme of the multi-day conference. With the "Kunkel-Straße" base, buildings from the 1944 expansion could also be inspected in detail. At the evening general meeting with new elections, the board was confirmed in office. There was no shortage of dialogue between the members and with the teams of supervisors on site in order to promote further networking between fellow researchers.

The next Annual General Meeting of the Study Group will take place from 02.04.2025 to 06.04.2025 in the Pirmasens-Bitsch area.

Picture above: Fort IV was converted into a restaurant with accommodation. Ideal for the participants of the general meeting of the Interfest study group (Friedrich Wein).