Omsk Fortress, Military fortress in Omsk, Russia

Omsk Fortress is a long single-storey red-brick building with a pitched roof, standing across a wide paved square behind a large archway. Its facade has seven evenly spaced round-headed open arches, with solid brick below and between them, and a small chimney or vent near the right end of the roofline. The first fortress, built from 1717 on the steep 12–15 m bank of the Om about 500 m from the Irtysh, covered roughly 6 hectares and had four gates: Spassky, Znamensky, Nikolsky and Shestakov.

The fortress was established in 1716 as a strategic military outpost for Russian expansion into Siberia. Its founding marked the beginning of what would become one of Siberia's most important urban centers.

The first fortress held a wooden Church of Sergius of Radonezh, surrounded by a fence with an octagonal bell tower at its southwest corner. Its population was Cossacks, free settlers and exiles; a 1725 census counted 992 men, with a garrison of 361 regular soldiers and 209 Cossacks. Most residents farmed the fields around the walls, receiving axes, sickles and scythes.

The first fortress stood on the steep bank of the Om, 12–15 m high and about 500 m from the Irtysh; that site is now occupied by the musical theatre and Lenin Square. The second fortress was built on the right bank of the Om because the floating bridge was removed during ice drift and freeze-up, cutting the old fort off from its rear. Look for the surviving brick building with seven round-headed arches facing the paved square.

The fortress functioned not just as a military installation but also as an administrative center and residential space for soldiers and civil officials in this remote region. This blending of military and civilian roles was typical of Russian frontier posts of the era.