There was a good reason why the fortress in the Belarusian city of Bobruisk is called the elder sister of Brest Fortress. It has so many regalia and titles that it can be definitely called its mother. An outstanding defensive structure, one of the best in Europe and the most impregnable in the Russian Empire - these are the titles of the citadel that survived the bloodiest wars, in 1812 with Napoleon and 1941 with Hitler.

The fortress was built in 1811 on the eve of the French invasion of Russia as a bridgehead. The world would have never seen its majestic walls if, in 1810, Count Karl Oppermann hadn’t proposed Alexander I to build it instead of another fortress near Rahachow, and the emperor hadn’t approved this proposal. The whole city was given for the fortress construction, and soldiers immediately started the territory clean-up. Those days became witnesses of the demolition of palaces and houses, temples and old fortifications. On June 4, the construction of the new fortress began. Thousands of soldiers and peasants took part in its erection, and the materials were brought from all over the empire. Major General E.P. Felkerzam was appointed the head of the construction. Those citizens who lost their houses received lands around the fortress. The works continued day and night, and by the end of 1811, the fortress with eight bastions had been recognized as the first-class defensive construction in the Russian Empire.

Its successful location played a significant role in the war of 1812, although there were no active hostilities both in the city and its surroundings. Nevertheless, historians unanimously state that no fortress in the Russian Empire was so useful as the Bobruisk one.

After the war, the citadel expansion and fortification continued: they built new bastions and observation towers; numerous tunnels, leading to the forest, were dug under it. The construction was completed in 1836.