Morast Redoubt, Kołobrzeg

Among the yachts of the Solna Marina in Kołobrzeg hides an 18th-century five-sided earthwork – one of the best-preserved parts of the town's former fortress. The Morast Redoubt, or Marsh Redoubt, defended the harbour and the mouth of the Parsęta River, and in 1945 it was one of the strongpoints in the battle for the town, fought from 4 to 18 March. Since its 2018 restoration the rampart is back to its original height, and a sailors' tavern operates inside.

History

The redoubt was built in 1770–1774 on Solna Island (Salt Island). Together with Fort Ujście on the other side of the channel, it was a key point in the defence of the harbour and the river mouth. It was modernised in 1832–1836. In the 19th century it was named the Schill Redoubt (Schill-Redoute) after the officer von Schill, one of the defenders of Kołobrzeg, then the Prussian town of Kolberg, during the siege of 1807.

In 1945 the redoubt was held by German sailors. After the war the moat separating it from the town was filled in, and for many years the site belonged to the "Joseph Conrad" sailing club. In 2018 the Kołobrzeg Seaport Authority carried out conservation work worth around PLN 4.7 million net: all rooms and structures were repaired, the earth rampart was raised to its original height and a gun emplacement was built into it. The work was completed on 30 October 2018.

What to see

• The five-sided outline – an earth rampart with a brick wall, best appreciated by walking all the way round.
• The gun emplacement recreated in the rampart during the restoration.
• Four buildings inside the redoubt, now converted into a sailors' tavern.
• The Solna Marina – the yacht harbour that surrounds the redoubt on all sides.

Good to know

"Morast" is German for "marsh" – a reminder that Solna Island was once boggy ground; the island itself takes its name from medieval salt works. An educational trail with information boards around the marina, set up by the port authority, tells this story – in 2014 archaeologists found pottery and many fishing-net weights here.

Tripto tip

Allow 15–20 minutes to see the redoubt from outside, or about 45 minutes with a walk around the marina. Address: ul. Warzelnicza 1, in the Solna Marina. No official source we could check lists the tavern's opening hours, so treat the interior as a bonus. The best photo of the earthwork against the yacht masts is from the marina quay. Extend your walk to Fort Ujście on the other side of the harbour channel. It was built in the same years, 1770–1774, has carried a lighthouse since the 19th century, and in 1945 was the last German strongpoint, evacuated on the night of 17–18 March. On 18 March a Mass was held on its ruins, followed by Poland's symbolic "wedding to the sea" ceremony on the breakwater.