Smolkov, Artillery fort in Moravskoslezský kraj, Czech Republic.

Smolkov is a Czech artillery fort in the Moravskoslezský region, made up of several surface casemates and bunkers connected by a network of underground passages. The structure was built with very thick concrete walls and reinforced steel plates to withstand direct fire and aerial bombing.

Built within Czechoslovakia's 1935–1938 fortification programme, Smolkov was the largest structure of the 2nd Engineer Group command and its 5th independent construction sub-sector, linking the Ostrava and Opava sectors. The artillery casemate MO-S 39 was concreted in parts in June and August 1937, and the rotating gun turret MO-S 38 was commissioned only in 1937. During the German occupation the armoured elements were torn out, the Wehrmacht tested steel nets against bombing on the site, and in April 1945 Soviet corps bypassed the fort through Hrabyně rather than attack it.

Smolkov is part of a line of forts that visitors can walk through today to get a sense of how Czechoslovak military planners thought about defense. The concrete structures and steel elements give a direct idea of the scale and seriousness of the effort put into protecting the Ostrava industrial area.

The above-ground parts of the fort are open to visitors and show the construction and layout of the defense works. The underground tunnels are not accessible to the public, but a visit to the surface areas already gives a good sense of how the fort was organized.

The artillery casemate MO-S-39 had a sheltered exit 94 by 200 cm in the ditch below the gun emplacements, letting engineers reach the surface to repair battle damage; a hidden second exit allowed the garrison to escape if the main gallery was buried.