Fort Bourtange ( nl, Vesting Bourtange) is a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Bourtange Bourtange (; Gronings: ''Boertang'') is a village with a population of 430 in the municipality of Westerwolde in the Netherlands. It is situated in the region Westerwolde in the east of the province of Groningen near the German border. Fort Bo ...

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It was built under orders of

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

and completed in 1593. Its original purpose was to control the only road between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the city of

, which was controlled by the

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...

during the time of the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

. After experiencing its final battle in 1672, the fort continued to serve in the defensive network on the German border until it was finally given up in 1851 and converted into a village. Fort Bourtange currently serves as a historical

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

History

At the start of the

(1568–1648), the Spaniards had control over Groningen and the passage to Germany through a marshy area. William, the instigator of the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

, deemed it necessary to seize control of the link between Groningen and Germany. He decided to have a fortification built in the Bourtange passage. A fort was completed in 1593, with a network of canals and lakes which were used as

moats A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

. Soon after its construction, Spanish forces from Groningen besieged it, though the attack ended in failure. Fort Bourtange faced another siege in 1672 against invading forces of the Prince-Bishop of Münster, France's German ally in the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...

. After capturing 18 cities and towns in the northern Netherlands, they demanded that the fort be surrendered. The fort's

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Captain Protts, refused, and the Münsters replied with a frontal assault. Thanks to the surrounding

marshes A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

and the time-tested fortifications, the invading army was repelled successfully.Netherlands, Pat Seward, Sunandini Arora Lal, pg. 23
After its conversion into a village in 1851, living conditions began to deteriorate. Over 100 years later in 1960, the local government decided to stop the decline by restoring the old fort to its 1740–50 appearance and converting into a historical museum.

Gallery

File:Luchtfoto bourtange.jpg, Aerial view Image:Bourtange 03.JPG, Bourtange fortification Image:Bourtange - Bovrtang (Atlas van Loon).jpg, Bourtange, Atlas van Loon 1649 Image:Bourtange06.jpg, Plan of Bourtange, 1742 Image:Bourtange, Netherlands.jpg, Centre of the village Image:Molen Bourtange.jpg, Windmill at Bourtange Image:Kerk Bourtange.jpg, Church at Bourtange Image:Synagoge Bourtange.jpg, The former

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

(now a museum) File:BourtangeExerzieren2010.ogv, pike drill and musket firing File:Bourtange-kanone2010.ogg, cannon loading and firing

Footnotes

References

George Sale George Sale (1697–1736) was a British Orientalist scholar and practising solicitor, best known for his 1734 translation of the Quran into English. In 1748, after having read Sale's translation, Voltaire wrote his own essay "De l'Alcoran ...

, George Psalmanazar,

Archibald Bower Archibald Bower (17 January 1686 – 3 September 1766) was a Scottish historian, now noted for his complicated and varying religious faith, and the accounts he gave of it, now considered by scholars to lack credibility. Educated at the Scots Co ...

and several others, ''A Universal History, From the Earliest Accounts to the Present Time, Vol. 45'', 177

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourtange, Fort Buildings and structures in Groningen (province) Forts in the Netherlands Military and war museums in the Netherlands Museums in Groningen (province) Open-air museums in the Netherlands Star forts Westerwolde (municipality) Articles containing video clips Military installations closed in 1851 1593 establishments in the Dutch Republic 1851 disestablishments in the Netherlands Museums established in 1860