North of the New Town, the Citadel is a massive 19th-century fortress overlooking the Vistula, built by the Russian tsar to intimidate Warsaw following the November Insurrection of 1830. It served as a notorious political prison for years and nowadays is used by the military. The huge gate overlooking the river is known as Brama Straceń (Gate of Execution), a spot where political prisoners were executed all too frequently after the later 1863 uprising.
