Fort Blücher (Wesel)

Fort Blücher is located opposite the city of Wesel in the district of Büderich and serves as a bridgehead for the Wesel road bridge over the Rhine. It was built under the name "Citadelle Napoleon" by Napoléon Bonaparte from 1807 to 1813. After a six-month siege of the Wesel fortress, the Citadelle was finally occupied by Prussian troops and later rebuilt with a new westward orientation based on the plans of fortress engineer Gotthilf Benjamin Keibel. The fort eventually received its current name after Field Marshal Blücher.

Towards the end of World War II, there were battles around the fort when 200 German soldiers covered the retreat across the Rhine and entrenched themselves in Fort Blücher.

After the destruction in World War II and the unfortunate reconstruction of the Rhine bridge for the fort, only the ruin of the defensive barracks remains as the last relic. Today, it is considered the largest known winter roost for bats in the Wesel district.