Battery above Pasterka

The Battery above Pasterka is a Prussian earth-and-timber fortification built at the turn of 1790 and 1791 on the slope of Szczeliniec Mały, near the village of Pasterka in the Radków municipality, in the Kłodzko region.

Why the Prussians built a fort in the Table Mountains

After the War of the Bavarian Succession in 1779, Austrian troops threatened the Kłodzko Fortress, so the Prussians began strengthening the surrounding hills with further fortifications. Construction of the battery continued despite the truce concluded in 1790, and King Frederick William II and Crown Prince Frederick William III both appeared at the construction site.

What the battery looked like

The fort measured 30 by 45 metres, with walls 1.75 metres thick at the front and 0.5 metres at the rear. It was armed with two six-pounder cannons, and the complex included casemates, caponiers and a firing platform. The fortification was used until 1798, at a distance of about 1.9 kilometres from Fort Karol.

What remains of the fortification today

After 1813 the structure most likely underwent natural decay, and the available sources do not state which elements have survived to this day or whether a marked tourist trail leads there. Anyone planning to reach the site should check this locally, for example at the Table Mountains National Park, on whose territory the slope of Szczeliniec Mały lies.

Practical information

• Address: no exact address, the site lies on the slope of Szczeliniec Mały near Pasterka, Radków municipality, Kłodzko County.
• Getting there: the nearest landmark is Szczeliniec Wielki, less than a kilometre away, and Błędne Skały (Errant Rocks) also lie within a few kilometres.
• What to expect: the remains of an 18th-century earth fortification, access and condition of the terrain to be checked on site.