Grauerort fortress
Encyclopedia
Grauerort fortress is a German
artillery fort on Elbe
river about 9 km (5.6 mi) north of Stade
which was built between 1869 and 1879 to defend the Port of Hamburg. Its shape is hexagonal, taking advantage of the topography of the area and the location of the previously existing levee. The main armament of the fort were probably ten 21 cm breech-loading guns (as opposed to the initially planned four 28 cm and six 21 cm guns), but they are no longer in place. There were also 4 12 cm and six 9 cm guns. Construction materials were cement
and brick
; concrete
was only used from 1885 onward.
While the fortress was in service during the Franco-Prussian War
in 1870–71, it was never involved in any battles. After World War I
, Grauerort was converted to a naval mine arsenal. Unused since 1985, it has been mostly restored to its original 19th-century state since 1997, and now serves as a museum and cultural venue.
Grauerort has a 250 m Elbe pier which was used to load ships with naval mines. After WW II, a popular restaurant, Klein Helgoland ("Little Heligoland
"), was located on the pier. Its popularity was because until 1955, Heligoland was off-limits to passenger ships, therefore people from Hamburg visited Klein Helgoland instead on their day trips.
Between 1959 and 1985, decommissioning of ammunition took place in Grauerort. 1992 and 1995 chemical analyses of the soil
at Grauerort revealed significant concentrations of, among others, PCN
s, TNT, RDX
, and cadmium
up to a depth of 3 m, raising the concern that hazardous substances could leach into the local groundwater
supply.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
artillery fort on Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
river about 9 km (5.6 mi) north of Stade
Stade
Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . It is the seat of the district named after it...
which was built between 1869 and 1879 to defend the Port of Hamburg. Its shape is hexagonal, taking advantage of the topography of the area and the location of the previously existing levee. The main armament of the fort were probably ten 21 cm breech-loading guns (as opposed to the initially planned four 28 cm and six 21 cm guns), but they are no longer in place. There were also 4 12 cm and six 9 cm guns. Construction materials were cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
and brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
; concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
was only used from 1885 onward.
While the fortress was in service during the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
in 1870–71, it was never involved in any battles. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Grauerort was converted to a naval mine arsenal. Unused since 1985, it has been mostly restored to its original 19th-century state since 1997, and now serves as a museum and cultural venue.
Grauerort has a 250 m Elbe pier which was used to load ships with naval mines. After WW II, a popular restaurant, Klein Helgoland ("Little Heligoland
Heligoland
Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea.Formerly Danish and British possessions, the islands are located in the Heligoland Bight in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea...
"), was located on the pier. Its popularity was because until 1955, Heligoland was off-limits to passenger ships, therefore people from Hamburg visited Klein Helgoland instead on their day trips.
Between 1959 and 1985, decommissioning of ammunition took place in Grauerort. 1992 and 1995 chemical analyses of the soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
at Grauerort revealed significant concentrations of, among others, PCN
Polychlorinated naphthalene
Polychlorinated naphthalene products are made by chemically reacting chlorine with naphthalene, a soft, pungent solid made from coal or petroleum and often used for mothproofing. The generic chemical formula is C10H10-nCln. Commercial PCNs are mixtures of up to 75 chlorinated naphthalene...
s, TNT, RDX
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
, and cadmium
Cadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, bluish-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Similar to zinc, it prefers oxidation state +2 in most of its compounds and similar to mercury it shows a low...
up to a depth of 3 m, raising the concern that hazardous substances could leach into the local groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
supply.