Fortness Mainz-Fort Biehler (Wiesbaden)

Fort Biehler was part of the Fortress of Mainz. It was built between 1880 and 1884 as Fort Petersberg. On April 30, 1885, it was renamed Fort Biehler in honor of Hans Alexis von Biehler, the former head of the Prussian Engineer Corps, who had retired a year earlier. The complex corresponds to the Biehler Fort or Standard Fort named after him. The fortress was the last major work built to strengthen the Fortress of Mainz.

The plans for a fort on the Petersberg date back to a draft by the Engineer Corps from April 1878. After various changes to the construction, work could begin in 1880, and the complex was completed in 1884. The last major renovation of the fortress took place in 1910 with the installation of a training facility for Pioneer Battalion 25.

After the First World War, French troops occupied the fort, using the complex as barracks and from 1925 as a warehouse. In 1924, the complex was dissolved by law. Like all other Mainz fortress works, Fort Biehler also fell under the provisions of Article 180 of the Treaty of Versailles and had to be de-fortified. Demolition work on the fort extended from April to August 1927.

In 1930, Dyckerhoff Cement Works acquired the ruins of the fort. They handed over the rubble to the city of Mainz, which built the Fort Biehler settlement nearby as part of a program to create housing for the unemployed, using stones from the fort ruins. After the occupation of the Rhineland, the former fort became a training ground for the troops stationed in Kastel.

During the Second World War, the residents of the settlement used the fortress remains as makeshift air-raid shelters. The area also actually sustained several bomb hits. After the war, American troops took over the site and began filling in the gorge. Temporarily, refugees were also housed in the ruins. Since 1956, civil defense has used the area for training purposes, so it is not freely accessible.

Since 1998, an initiative has been working to preserve the remains of the fortress on the Petersberg. However, the remains of the fort are not listed as a historical monument.