I've been back in the Netherlands for nearly two weeks now and I really can't figure out where the time has gone. All I know is that I've been very busy working on the boats and doing some re-decorating in the Crumbly Cottage Mk1. However, it hasn't all been work and no play. The first week I was home I needed to go to Vlissingen to buy some rope to replace the old, stiff lichen-covered line that was keeping my tarpaulin on Vereeniging's hatches. Knowing there were some interesting sea forts along the coast there, I persuaded daughter 1, Jo, to come with me and visit Fort Rammekens, said to be the oldest sea fort in Western Europe.
After a successful visit to the chandlers in Vlissingen, we made our way east to find the fort situated on the coast nearby. I was prepared to be impressed, but I wasn't ready to find it as interesting as it is. Dating back to 1547, Fort Rammekens has had a pretty intense history, the outlines of which you can find in this
website, along with information about the natural environs as well. Just make sure to ask Google to translate the site into English.
In short, though, the fort used to be right on the sea with only a small dyke running through its walls to protect it. The outer footings of its walls were submerged in the waters of the estuary. It was originally built to defend the shipping route to Middelburg, the most important city in Zeeland (and still the provincial capital). However, over time, it was used not only for protecting Middelburg, but also to supply the Dutch East India company (the VOC) and to be part of Napoleon's defences. In addition, it acted as both a prison and a hospital and during WWII, it was part of the Germans' defence wall along the coast. These days, the sea dyke is much larger and further from the fort, while the canal to Middelburg it originally defended has been re-routed, largely rendering the fort redundant.
That said, it remains an impressive historical monument and I really enjoyed our visit on a beautifully hot sunny day. Luckily, dogs were allowed on site and Jo and I eagerly explored all the cavernous rooms, passages and cellars we could reach. The walls of the fort are six metres thick (yes, that's right, 6m!) and these are also protected as being home to a special species of yellow wallflower.
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| Walking along the outer walls of the fort |
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| Gun portals in the walls |
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| Another gun portal |
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| Apparently, the brickwork is Napoleonic |
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| How we exited the fort to walk around its preimeter |
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| Looking back |
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The moat surrounding the fort. In former times,
this would have been the sea. |
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Yellow wallflowers on the old Napoleonic
brickwork |
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| Lucy pooch |
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| More of the moat |
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| Zoe squinting at the sun |
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These chains are simply to guide water into
channels below the ground to supply a central
reservoir. |
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| What they used to defend the fort! |
After our fascinating visit finished by a welcome cuppa from the small kiosk in the grounds, we took the pups to a nearby beach where, joy of joy, they were allowed to run off the lead. Much fun was had by all, as well as some other pooches. It was lovely to find a beach where the dogs were welcome even in high season... that is, as long as we picked up any... erm... deposits, which we always do anyway.
Altogether, it was a lovely day out and I hope we can explore a few more of these historical sites before the weather turns cold. If you'd like to see more photos of Fort Rammekens, click on this
link,
For my next post, I'll try and remember what else I've been up to in these last two weeks, so have a good one, allemaal.
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How fascinating. I love places like that! And lovely for the dogs, and you and Jo, to have that beach walk at the end.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shirley. It was a really grand day out!
DeleteImpressive construction and history. And a beautiful place! Ahhh to be by the sea. 🌊
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes! It is impressive )
DeleteHi Val - reminds me of our Redoubt - not in quite as bad a nick as yours ... they are amazing these huge forts along the coasts ... looks like ours was built at much the same time ... Napoleonic wars. Ours has been used as a museum, venue, but sadly is too close to the sea - they are looking for other ideas to restore it to full use of some description. Thanks for the tour - fascinating to see - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hilary! This one was expanded during the Napoleonic wars, but the original walls date back to 1547, so it’s pretty old. I hope yours finds its purpose soon. :)
DeleteGood to hear from you, Val. What an amazing structure that fort is. I keep meaning to get out and about and do some exploring although there's nothing like that near here and it's a few years since I've seen the sea. Love the photos of your dogs.
ReplyDeleteAh Ros, a visit to the coast is always refreshing, as is exploring! It’s lovely to see you here too. Thank you! Xx
DeleteWow! I can see that you are had a great time Val. Amazing fort.
ReplyDeleteI checked out the Fort Rammekens website. Lots of stuff have happened during the five centuries. Interesting to see the changes Napoleon made to the fort.
(My latest post: Real-world lessons from younger folks)
We had a lovely time, thanks, Pradeep. Yes, the fort has quite a history, doesn’t it?
DeleteLooks like a grand day indeed!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed, TT! I always love poking around historical sites.
DeleteHi Val. The background information on Fort Rammekens is so interesting. The pictures make me feel as if I was there with you and Jo. You are such a great history buff. Glad that the dogs could trot along. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAh, thank you, Lynn. I’m always fascinated by historical places and sites. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Xx
DeleteInteresting, as ever. I'm confused by the "oldest coastal fort" claim, or do you not consider Britain part of Europe since we left the EU? The Tudors built coastal forts along the south coast to defend us against those pesky French. I haven't been in any, but we were visiting our son in Portsmouth, where he was doing some work, and we discovered a Henry VIII fort close to where we were staying. Unfortunately, it was not open when we were there but we had a look from outside. It was Southsea castle, built in 1544. It's not particularly big or elaborate. The forts were essentially fortified gun platforms to guard against the French landing troops. Henry watched from Southsea when the Mary Rose (the one that was salvaged and is now in a museum) sank in action against the French in 1545.
ReplyDeleteHi Tom, thanks or your interesting comment. It’s the fort’s website that makes that claim but maybe they should have said continental Western Europe, rather than Western Europe as a whole. The fort dates back to 1547, just three years later than Southsea (which I didn’t know about either). That specify it was a sea fort, so maybe the fact its walls were partially in the sea has some significance. Who knows? To be honest, I didn’t look further than the leaflet they provided and the website. I now see Wikipedia doesn’t make that claim, but whatever the case, its purpose was to defend Middelburg from unspecified ‘enemies’. The Netherlands was under Hapsburg rule at the time and the major conflicts with Spain only flared up later, so it is not clear to me who they needed to defend the coast from. I’ll have to read further. :)
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