Dělostřelecká tvrz Stachelberg

About the museum

The Stachelberg fort was to be one of the most massive structures of the Czechoslovak fortifications on the northern border. In 1936 a decision was made to build it on the Stachelberg hill near Babí; construction began in October 1937, and twelve large bunkers with an extensive underground were planned for a garrison of eight hundred to a thousand men. In the summer of 1938 the first structure was concreted.

After the Munich Agreement, the Czechoslovaks left the unfinished fort and had the underground flooded. In spring 1945 the Germans hastily armed several light structures in the area against the advancing Red Army, but no fighting took place. In 1958 the site was entered in the register of immovable cultural monuments; nevertheless it gradually fell into disrepair, and in 1966 a large quantity of a poisonous substance for controlling the Colorado potato beetle was stored in bunker T-S 73.

From 1988 the fort was looked after by a group of enthusiasts, from which the Fortis cooperative and later the Stachelberg association emerged. After the poisons were removed, they opened the first museum exhibition in 1993; from 2001 the underground was gradually made accessible, in 2011 the site passed into the ownership of the association, and in 2014 the Eliška lookout tower was added. In recent years the association has been restoring the infantry bunker T-S 81a with the fort gun L1.

Highlights

• Underground of the fort to a depth of 52 m; the tour covers more than a kilometre of corridors and halls
• Historical exhibition in the main bunker T-S 73
• Restored pillboxes from 1938, from 1945 and from the Cold War period
• Museum of communications technology and the firing position of a recoilless gun
• Eliška lookout tower with free admission and children’s playgrounds on the site

Permanent exhibitions

• Historická expozice v bunkru T-S 73 – Exhibition in the main bunker devoted to the mobilisation of 1938, the Munich catastrophe and the restoration of the state.
• Podzemní okruh – jak se staví pevnostní obr – Guided tour through the unfinished corridors and halls at depths of up to 50 metres; it includes a visit to a pillbox from the 1938 mobilisation period.
• Příběh československého opevnění – Further smaller light and field fortification structures and a museum of communications technology show the development of fortifications up to the end of the 20th century (in the main season).

Founded

1993

Operated by

Stachelberg z. s.

Admission & discounts

Payment can be made in cash or by card, and tickets are also available online. A visit to the smaller structures (pillboxes) in the main season is for a voluntary admission fee.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The underground tour includes 186 steps, and the temperature underground is around 9 °C. Dogs (on a lead, with a muzzle) may enter after arrangement at the ticket office.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Playground / play area

For children there are detective games (from 6 and from 10 years), a playground opposite the refreshments and at the Eliška lookout tower, and a family ticket 2+2. The underground tour includes 186 steps.

Getting there & parking

The car park is about half a kilometre from the main museum building.

Amenities & dining

• Café

Refreshments on site (soup, beer, sausage in a roll and more), with toilets next to them. A freely accessible gazebo; pitching tents on the meadow is possible by arrangement. Bicycle racks are at the lookout tower and behind the bunker.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit