In ancient times, Vilna was surrounded by a stone fortress wall. Below the Subocz Gate, in the first half of the 17th century, a barbican was built, which has survived to this day, called the Bastion. The bastion consisted of four elements: a tower, a wall with a terrace, a casemate and a tunnel. It was built to take advantage of a natural fortification - a forty-meter-high hill on the banks of the Vilna River. The bastion had a horseshoe shape, protruding outward beyond the line of the city wall north of the Dog Gate. The thickness of the brick walls at the base was three and a half meters, at the top - about one and a half meters. Large boulders were built into the base of the walls. On the inside, the bastion was covered by a brick wall eight meters high, and on the flanks it was protected by two curtains. The walls were encircled and served as their outer defensive line by a ditch, which, if necessary, could be filled with water from the river. The Bastion was only claimed once. During the Russian-Polish War of 1654-1667, when the Russian army approached Vilna, the commander of the Polish-Lithuanian army, Hetman J. Radziwill, decided to leave the city fortifications without a battle due to the unsatisfactory condition of the walls and towers. Russian troops entered the capital of Lithuania in an organized manner through four gates. A short battle with the retreating enemy rearguard occurred only at the crossing of the Viliya River at the Green Bridge, after which the hetman's divisions retreated to Zhmud. “This is how Lithuanian Carthage, Krakow’s rival, was captured,” wrote a 17th-century Polish historian. The impregnable Artillery Bastion was surrendered without a fight.

The bastion is a beautiful monument, very well appointed outdoors and indoors, it can be easily visited. Today it is an interesting cultural place to do with children. The activity takes 20 to 30min The park around is just as interesting

The bastion itself is now nestled in between houses and business and looks a little out of place. The bastion is interesting with some old cannons on top. The real delights are inside. You walk down a slope into the cellars of the bastion. Inside is a load of items that have been dug up here that cover a massive stretch of history. Very interesting.