The moat around the fortress

The construction of the moat was started along with that of the fortress. Its length is 6 kilometres. It had an elaborate system of locks. The banks were clad with stones. That made not only an obstacle, a barrier on the way of a possible enemy, but also a place for fish farming, boating and swimming. The water level in the moat was constantly maintained .

In the course of the years, the moat became clogged and the lock system got out of order.

In August 1997, the Coordinating Council on the protection of tangible and intangible heritage by the Brest Regional Executive Committee made up a decision to clean up the moat. The cleaning work was done by Mobile Mechanical Column-19 from Zhabinka. The works under the water were carried out by divers of the Brest river port. While cleaning the moat in 1998-2001, 187 artefacts were found, which joined the collection of the defence museum. Also 129 explosive objects were removed and destroyed by servicemen.