Locatie waar vroeger het kanon zich bevond

The

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

known as the Defence Line of Amsterdam (in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...

named ''Stelling van Amsterdam'', ) is a ring of

fortification 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'' ...

s around Amsterdam. It has 42 forts that are from the centre and lowlands, which can easily be flooded in time of war. The flooding was designed to give a depth of about , too little for boats to cross. Any buildings within of the line had to be made of wood so that they could be burnt and the obstruction removed. The Stelling van Amsterdam was constructed between 1880 and 1920. The invention of the

aeroplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...

and

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

made the forts obsolete almost as soon as they were finished. Many of the forts now are under the control of both the town councils and the nature department. They may be visited by the public, and admission is free on Monuments Day, the second Saturday in September.

Function

The Stelling van Amsterdam was primarily a defensive water line (Dutch: ''waterlinie''). In the event of an enemy attack, large tracts of land around Amsterdam would be inundated with water, preventing the enemy from advancing. Amsterdam would function as a national redoubt or

reduit A reduit is a fortified structure such as a citadel or a keep into which the defending troops can retreat when the outer defences are breached. The term is also used to describe an area of a country, which, through a ring of heavy fortifications o ...

, as the last stronghold of the

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 Neth ...

. Forts were built in which roads, railways or dikes crossed through the water line. At such locations, there would be no water to stop the enemy and so the forts were intended to shell the enemy.

Construction

The law for the construction of the Stelling van Amsterdam was passed in 1874, a few years after the

Unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of ...

, which placed a powerful new

great power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power inf ...

on the eastern border of the Netherlands. During the planning prior to its construction, the design was already obviously outdated by modern technical advances. The invention of the

high-explosive shell A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage so ...

and the percussion fuze, which allowed ordnance to explode on impact and dislodge brick fortifications easily, necessitated a change from

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

to concrete forts. The Dutch did not have the required experience yet using and building with concrete and so extensive tests had to be performed. Concrete structures were shelled with the heaviest artillery available at that time. Further delays resulted from the fact that the sand foundations had to settle for several years before the forts could be built on them. Only in 1897 could the actual construction finally begin.

Service

The Stelling van Amsterdam has never seen combat service and the use of aircraft rendered it obsolete after World War I. It was, however, maintained and kept in service until it was decommissioned in 1963. The dike through the

Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer () is a municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The name Haarlemmermeer means 'Haarlem's lake', referring to the body of wate ...

, which made it possible to flood the southern portion of the

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

while the northern portion could continue to produce food for Amsterdam, is now cut by the A4 motorway. The motorway also goes under the

Ringvaart The Ringvaart (known in full as Ringvaart of the Haarlemmermeer Polder) is a canal in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. The Ringvaart (Dutch meaning "ring canal") is a true circular canal surrounding the Haarlemmermeer polder an ...

Roelofarendsveen Roelofarendsveen is a town in the west of the Netherlands. It is located in the municipality of Kaag en Braassem, South Holland, about 10 km east of Leiden. History The village was first mentioned in 1575 as "Roelifaerts Veen", and means " ...

, which makes the flooding of the Haarlemmermeer Polder and thus the future use of the Stelling no longer possible. In 1996, the complete Stelling was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

List of forts

North front

* Fort near Edam * Fort near Kwadijk * Fort North of Purmerend * Fort along Nekkerweg * Fort along Middenweg * Fort along Jisperweg * Fort near Spijkerboor

Northwest front

* Fort near Marken-Binnen * Fort near Krommeniedijk *

Fort along Den Ham The Fort along Den Ham is a fort that is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Stelling van Amsterdam. It's located along the railroad from Uitgeest to Krommenie. The earthen walls date from 1896, the fort itself was finished in 1903. ...

* Fort near Veldhuis * Fort along the St. Aagtendijk * Fort in the Zuidwijkermeerpolder * Fort near Velsen * Coastal Fort near IJmuiden

West front

* Fort North of Spaarndam * Fort South of Spaarndam * Fort near Penningsveer * Fort near the Liebrug * Fort along the Liede

Southwest front

Fort near Vijfhuizen Fort Vijfhuizen is one of forty-two forts in the Defense Line of Amsterdam (Dutch: ''stelling van Amsterdam''), a World Heritage Site. It is located in the town of Vijfhuizen on the '' ringvaart'' which surrounds the Haarlemmermeer polder. The m ...

* Battery along IJweg * Fort near Hoofddorp * Battery along Sloterweg * Fort near Aalsmeer

South front

* Fort near Kudelstaart *

Fort near De Kwakel The Fort bij De Kwakel is a fort that is part of the Stelling van Amsterdam. It's located in the village of De Kwakel The Kwakel is a village in the municipality of Uithoorn, North Holland, the Netherlands, near the border with South Holl ...

Fort along the Drecht 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'' ...

* Fort near Uithoorn * Fort Waver-Amstel * Fort in the Waver-Botshol * Fort along the Winkel

Southeast front

* Fort near Abcoude * Batteries along the Gein * Fort near Nigtevecht * Fort near Hinderdam * Fort Uitermeer * Weesp Fortress

Zuiderzee front

* Muiden Fortress * Battery near Diemerdam * Fort Pampus * Batterij near Durgerdam ('' Vuurtoreneiland'')

References

External links

Website of the Defence Line of Amsterdam

Website about the Defence Line of Amsterdam

Virtual Tour

Visit site in 360° panophotography
{{Authority control World Heritage Sites in the Netherlands Buildings and structures in North Holland 19th century in Amsterdam 20th century in Amsterdam Forts in the Netherlands Tourist attractions in North Holland National redoubts