In 1688, the French built the Paffendal redoubt to the left of what was to become Fort Olizy.
The 'Austrians' built Fort Olizy in 1733-34. Initially, the fort comprised a large, pentagonal reduit with a gun platform surrounded by a ditch. At the time, the areas surrounding the fort were accessed from Fort Niedergrünewald via a communicating trench. A 330-m long underground gallery linked the countermine system of this fort with Fort Olizy. The Paffendal redoubt was dismantled during this period.
Built by the Prussians in 1835-36, the large casemates of the new reduit provided a living area of 687 m2 for 180 military personnel, and were equipped with a war kitchen. The casemates were also able to house a battery of fifteen pieces of artillery underneath.
Work on filling in the ditch began in 1870. The rest of the structure was dismantled in 1874/75.