Vijay Durg

Kolkata, West Bengal, India

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Vijay Durg, formerly known as Fort William, is a historic fort located in Hastings, Kolkata, West Bengal, situated on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River.

Originally built by the British East India Company starting in 1696 under Sir John Goldsborough with permission from Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the fort was completed in 1706 and named after King William III of England. It was a key military stronghold and witnessed significant events, including the Siege of Calcutta in 1756 and the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta incident.

After the British recaptured Calcutta in 1757, Robert Clive rebuilt the fort at its current location, with construction finishing in 1781. The fort spans about seventy hectares and is flanked by the Maidan, Kolkata's largest park. It now serves as the headquarters of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command and houses a war memorial and museum showcasing artifacts from the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War and the Bangladesh Liberation War.

In 2025, the fort was officially renamed Vijay Durg in honor of Maharashtra's historic Sindhudurg Fort, symbolizing a move to shed colonial legacies and celebrate India’s heritage and military victories, notably the 1971 war that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

The renaming also included changes to other structures within the fort, paying tribute to Indian military heroes and freedom fighters.