The legendary citadel was designed in 1830 by experts of the Russian Corps of Engineers.

The construction of the main fortress was completed in April 1842, however it was not until World War I that they had completed developing the 6-km-long fortification lines.

In 1941 the fortress was the first to take the German Army’s assault. Despite the enemy’s numerical superiority, the fortress had been holding firm for weeks and never gave up.

Paying tribute to the heroic defence of the fortress in the first weeks of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), starting 1965 they refer to the citadel as the Hero Fortress of Brest.

In the early 1960s it was decided to create a memorial complex in the fortress. Then there followed a large-scale fund-raising campaign to collect financial resources for the project that turned the fortress into an open-air museum.

The ruins and the bullet-bitten walls of the fortress have been carefully preserved.

The main part of the memorial complex is the Square of Ceremonies, the Museum of the Defence of the Fortress of Brest, the ruins of the White Palace.

The Compositional Centre of the Complex is the Main Monument “Courage” 33.5 metres high, with inscriptions on the back side.

The Bayonet obelisk, 100 metres high, weighing 620 tonnes, is seen from any part of the fortress.

The lighting, music and sound effects at the memorial are an important emotional element in its perception. At night, the complex and the fortress walls are lit up by 500 floodlights and more than 760 lamps of red, white, green colours.

Brest Hero Fortress Memorial

Tel. +375 (0) 162 20-03-65

Fax. +375 (0) 162 20-00-12

Working hours: 9: 00-18: 00 seven days a week. The memorial is closed however on every last Tuesday of the month for a major cleanup.

Visitors are expected to pay entrance fees.