On the east bank of the Hooghly River, a major tributary of the Ganges in Calcutta, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, it is one of the main attractions of the city - Fort William. It was built at the beginning of the period of British rule in India, and named in honor of King William (William) III. In front of him is the biggest public park in Calcutta - Maidan.

Officially, there are two Fort William - old and new .  The old fortress was built in 1696. East India Company led by John Goldmborugha, to strengthen the European authority in this area .  Then it was created the South-eastern bastion and the surrounding wall .  Later, in 1701, John Bird built the Northeast Bastion, and in 1702 began construction of the Government House (Home Office) in the heart of the fortress - a large two-story building .  And it only completed in 1706 .  It was in this building housed the infamous 'black hole' - a small cellar, which in 1756 were tortured over hundreds of British soldiers when the fortress was captured by the troops of the Nawab (ruler) of Bengal Siraj-ud Daulaha .  At the same time the fort was renamed Alinagar .  But in 1758, after the Battle of Plassey, Robert Clive returned to Fort William British .  In 1781 he started the reconstruction of the fortress and construction of the "new" fort, so that they occupied area has increased to 70, 9 hectares .

Today the territory of the new fort belongs to the Indian Army - in it the headquarters of the Eastern Command, and the fortress itself is able to take the "room" to 10 thousand soldiers. The "new" Fort William is well protected, and the entrance is forbidden to civilians.