The Fort d'Uxegney is part of the fortifications of Épinal. It was built near the village of Uxegney between 1882 and 1884, and was modernized in 1910. It is an example of a Séré de Rivières system fortification. It retains its armament and is maintained as a museum.
Fort d'Uxegney is part of a 43-kilometre (27 mi) line of sixteen major fortifications designed to bar the advance of a German army into France. It retains a functioning example of an eclipsing Galopin turret. Armed with a 155mm gun, the assembly weighs 250 tons and was installed in 1907. A considerable amount of the fort's equipment remains in place, including kitchens, living facilities and details of armament, in an unusually good state of preservation.
In 1914 a further project to add two 155mm gun turrets in a separate armored battery was proposed, but was canceled by the outbreak of war. The Fort d'Uxegney saw no action during World War I, as the Germans did not advance into the area around Épinal. During World War II the Germans left Uxegney intact even as they stripped other forts around Épinal.
The French army used both forts as ammunition depots until 1960. They were afterwards abandoned. Since 1989 the Association pour la Restauration du Fort d'Uxegney et de la Place d'Épinal has restored and maintained the Uxegney site. The fort may be visited between May and September.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.