If you’re walking along ul. Ks. Skargi it’s impossible to miss the grandiose crescent-shaped structure rising above Most Skargi. One of the few remaining fortifications that once protected the Old Town from invasion, Partisan Hill was built between 1594 and 1598, and originally awarded the name 'Bastion Sakwowy' (Saddlebag Bastion). The buildings you see today date from the 19th century, however, when the area was redeveloped as public recreational space. A fearsome tower designed by Berlin architect Carl Schmidt was added in 1867, though this was demolished during WWII to prevent advancing Russian troops from using it as a reference point for artillery shelling. At the start of the Siege of 1945 the subterranean bunkers and catacombs were used as HQ by Nazi high command, though they relocated in March 1945 as the Red Army drew closer. After the war the hillock was oddly re-christened 'Partisan Hill' and the old cellars temporarily housed a museum. Sadly sold to private investors in the 1990s, the space has since been occupied by beer gardens, strip clubs, and restaurants, but simultaneously fallen into complete disarray, forlorn and seemingly forgotten - a once gleaming construction littered with smashed bottles and spray can squiggles. The situation got so bad that the city set aside budgetary funds to repurchase the area and there are now plans to renovate it. Although currently closed, Partisan Hill's legends of Nazi tunnels and medieval torture chambers, combined with the creepy, wind-swept loneliness of the site today, make this place a must for those who enjoy the thrill of urban trespassing.
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