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Eighth Fort

fort of Kaunas Fortress, Lithuania

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 17, 2025
Entity authorityQ12675971
Source-derived summary

Kaunas Eighth Fort (Lithuanian: VIII Kauno fortas), also known as Linkuva, is a former military fort in Šilainiai elderate, Kaunas, Lithuania. Built in 1889–1890, it is part of Kaunas Fortress, which was constructed by the Russian Empire. The Eighth Fort was the first element of Kaunas Fortress to use concrete. The structure is currently abandoned and semi-flooded. The slopes of the fort have been used since the interwar period as a community garden.

History

The construction of the Eighth Fort began in 1889, after the first seven forts of Kaunas Fortress had already been designed and constructed. The earlier forts did not form a fully enclosed defensive ring around the city of Kaunas, and so the Eighth Fort was built to protect against attacks from the northwest. Although the earlier forts were constructed in red brick, the Eighth Fort is made from concrete and covered in soil. It was also the first fort of Kaunas Fortress to be equipped with electricity, which was provided via an oil-powered generator. However the fort was compromised by its position, which was not the highest point in the area, and so it was superseded four years later by the Ninth Fort.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Eighth Fort” as fort of Kaunas Fortress, Lithuania. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Eighth, Fort and fort.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1889, 1890—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Eighth, Fort and fort providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Eighth Fort”, the useful work is to connect “fort of Kaunas Fortress, Lithuania” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 17, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q12675971. Authority coordinates are 54.920, 23.885. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1889 and 1890.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Eighth Fort”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Eighth Fort primary sources, Eighth Fort archive and Eighth research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Eighth Fort”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Eighth Fort” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.