The culturally and historically significant, heritage-protected former fortress in Torgau is now a socio-cultural centre.
In 1809, Napoleon I decided to build a new fortress on the Elbe. The decisive reason for this was to secure and fortify the Elbe line against a possible Russian campaign. In the end, Torgau was chosen. The main construction of the Torgau fortress, the construction of which began in 1810, was made up of eight bastions. These were fortified parts of the main ramparts and had bomb-proof rooms, so-called flank casemates, on either side. One of these flank casemates was turned into the current Torgau Kulturbastion (right flank casemate of Bastion II).
After Napoleonic rule, Torgau became Prussian property in 1815, and the bastion, and fortress were further extended. The last building to be erected in 1877 was a bomb-proof grain magazine to the left of the flank casemate, which is now used by KAP Torgau e.V. as office space. In the second half of the 19th century there were technical improvements to offensive weapons, making many fortresses less interesting from a military point of view. On 1 January 1893, the Prussian military handed over the fortress area to the city of Torgau.
In the 20th century the flank casemate was used for many purposes. In times of war, it served as a camp for arms, provisions and refugees, but later it was used as a warehouse or as an illegal landfill. During the SED dictatorship, the building was part of the "Kraftverkehr Torgau" premises.
In November 2005, the Kulturbastion was formally handed over to the KAP-Torgau e.V. by the mayor of Torgau. After a two-year construction period and with the help of the EU's ERDF programme and the federal government's "Culture in the New Federal States" programme, it was possible to convert the old heritage-protected Bastion II fortress in Torgau into a socio-cultural centre. The KAP-Torgau was awarded the Culture Prize of the Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft e.V. in 2005.
The association has not only succeeded in establishing a socio-cultural centre, but also in actively protecting historical monuments by renovating parts of the culturally and historically significant Torgau fortress. A conceptual combination of socio-culture, monument protection and cultural tourism was successfully achieved.
The programme includes cabaret and comedy, concerts, readings, exhibitions, a youth centre and a digital 3D cinema. Today, the Kulturbastion is one of the cultural identification points in Torgau and the Northern Saxony administrative district. Due to the variety of programmes on offer, it is frequented by a broad section of the population. The combination of architecture, programmes and facilities make the Kulturbastion an architectural and cultural gem in the countryside.
The premises of the Kulturbastion are completely disability-accessible.