''Festung'' is a generic

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

word for a fortress. Although it is not in common usage in English, it is used in a number of historical contexts involving German speakers: * For historical fortresses in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

or Switzerland * As part of the reasoning given by the German Army ('' Heer'') for the slow progress of the Siege of Warsaw * For German WWII strongholds which were to be held at all costs, especially towards the end of the war: **

Alpine Fortress The Alpine Fortress (german: Alpenfestung) or Alpine Redoubt was the World War II national redoubt planned by Heinrich Himmler in November and December 1943"Himmler started laying the plans for underground warfare in the last two months of 1943 ...

or ''Alpenfestung'' ** Atlantic wall or '' Festung Europa — a military propaganda term from the Second World War which referred to the areas of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany. ** Stalingrad (see Battle for Stalingrad) **

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

( Festung Warschau) see also the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

( Battle of Posen) ** Kolobrzeg ( Battle of Kolberg) **

Piła Piła (german: Schneidemühl) is a city in northwestern Poland and the capital of Piła County, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Its population as of 2021 was 71,846, making it the third-largest city in the voivodeship after Poznań ...

(Festung Schneidemühl) **

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

( Festung Breslau) **

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

(

Battle of Budapest The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budap ...

) **

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

( Festung Königsberg) * For entire countries such as

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

which were heavily fortified in World War II. See

Festung Norwegen {{Norway during World War II Festung Norwegen (Fortress Norway) was the German term for the heavy defence and fortification system of Norway during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany in World War II. Some, including ''Reichskommissar'' Jose ...

. * For proposed post war German enclaves in places such as

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

and

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. * For planned national redoubts such as Switzerland's National Redoubt (Schweizer Alpenfestung).

References

{{SIA German words and phrases

See also

References