Abandoned 19th-century fortress near Warsaw to be turned into hotel

An abandoned fortress near Warsaw, initially built by Napoleon and later expanded by Tsarist Russia, will be transformed into a hotel. The developer that purchased the site over a decade ago has announced these plans.

Location and Structure

Modlin Fortress is a massive defensive structure situated at the confluence of the Narew and Vistula rivers, approximately 30 km north of Warsaw. Its fortified barracks, constructed by the Russians in the 1830s, are believed to be Europe’s longest building, stretching about 2.2 km.

Historical Background

The fortress’s construction began between 1806 and 1812 when the Duchy of Warsaw was a client state of Napoleonic France.
After Napoleon’s failed invasion of Russia in 1812, the region returned to Russian control.
Following Poland’s regaining of independence in 1918, the fortress was modernized.
It was a key site during the Battle of Modlin in Nazi Germany’s 1939 invasion.
The fortress served as a military facility until the early 2000s but has since been mostly abandoned.

Modlin Fortress seen from the air, with the long barracks building on the far side of the river and Modlin Airport visible in the background (source: Gaszerbrum/Wikimedia Commons, under CC BY-SA 4).

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Author’s summary: The historic Modlin Fortress near Warsaw, once a strategic military site built under Napoleon and Russia, is set to be revitalized into a hotel after decades of abandonment.

Notes From Poland — 2025-11-05