Fort Hermann

The upper fortification, Fort Hermann, located on a rock ledge on the slope of Mt. Rombon, was also part of the complex of structures in the Bovec blockade (Sperre Flitsch). The Austrians built it between 1897 and 1900. It was more up-to-date in its time than the lower fortification (Fort Kluže). Its task was to keep control over the Bovec basin and the artillery defence of the latter. It was initially named Werk Rombon, but was later renamed Fort Hermann after the captain Johann Hermann von Hermannsdorf, the Austrian commander of the fortress at Predel who was killed, together with practically the whole squad, during the fights against the French in 1809. Ac¬cording to contemporary assessments of the constructors, the upper fortification was supposedly firm enough to resist the shelling with the most powerful grenades of the time. It was modernized several times by the beginning of World War I. The two Forts are connected by a boldly laid-out track and also a short cut was made by means of iron pitons which are in a very poor state today. Soon after the onset of fights on the Isonzo Front in May 1915, the Italian artillery shelled Fort Hermann and later put it completely out of action. Consequently, the squad of the Austro-Hungarian soldiers left it for good in May 1916 and moved the guns to other positions in the Bovec area. Photos: (1, 2) Peter Bijuklič, Fundacija Poti miru; (3) Ana Skobe, Turizem Dolina Soče; (4) Tomo Jeseničnik, Turizem Dolina Soče