Fort de Bicêtre, Military fort in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France

Fort de Bicêtre is a pentagonal fortification in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, built between 1841 and 1845, with escarpment and counterscarp walls separated by a ditch. Its entrance gate is flanked by two guardhouses and bears the inscription "Fort de Bicêtre" outside and the dates 1842-1846 inside. The 25-hectare site includes two powder magazines in the gorge bastions, each 142 square metres and built with stone walls over two metres thick.

The fort was built between 1841 and 1845 under Louis-Philippe as part of a defensive ring around Paris. During World War II, German troops added concrete bunkers and an underground hospital within the fortification.

The fort's name comes from the Bicêtre hill, and its entrance carries the inscription "Fort de Bicêtre" outside and the dates 1842-1846 inside. The powder magazines, each 142 m² and built for about fifty tonnes of black powder, have walls over two metres thick and floors pegged with wood or bronze nails to avoid sparks.

The fort is controlled by the Ministry of Defense and typically opens to the public only during special events like European Heritage Days. Visitors should bring identification and check opening dates in advance.

The quarries beneath the fort were reworked and their galleries opening onto the surrounding countryside were sealed with crenellated chicanes. The fort also kept a Poncelet counterweight drawbridge at its gate; only the pulley and counterweight system survives, as the ditch has been filled in.