Fort Rammekens
Fort Rammekens is considered the oldest sea fort in Western Europe. It is east of Vlissingen near the village of Ritthem on the Walcheren peninsula in the Dutch province of Zeeland . The fortress was declared a Rijksmonument .
location
The fortress from the 16th century is strategically located near the village of Ritthem on the north bank of the Westerschelde at the entrance of today's Slope port. She dominated the access to the port of Middelburg at that time .
history
The fortification was built by the architect Donato de Boni on behalf of Emperor Charles V in the Italian Renaissance style. After its withdrawal, the Geusen occupied the strategically important place in the Eighty Years War . Subsequently, the fort was owned by the English for a time in exchange for helping against the Spanish.
Napoleon I had the fortifications rebuilt. A lock inside had to give way to casemates .
During the battle of the Scheldt estuary , the fort was used for the last time in 1944 when the German occupation built a machine gun position here. The Allied bombardment of the dikes left its mark on the landscape. Water flowing in after dyke breaches remained partially on the site around the fort.
The forest area Rammekenshoek is under nature protection as a biotope. The north-eastern part is a restricted military area. The dike at the fort offers a contrasting view over the Western Scheldt, the Sloehafen, the Borssele nuclear power plant and the Terneuzens industrial area on the opposite side of the Scheldt.
Web links
- Fort website (Dutch)
- Fort Rammekens: Website of the tourist association VVV Zeeland (Dutch, German, English)
- zeelandtravel.nl (Dutch)
- Illustration by Frans Hogenberg from 1576: Rammeken has a very strong nest, which Vlißinger woll is located ... ( digitized version )
- Article by Karl Kiem about the building history of Fort Rammekens (German)
Coordinates: 51 ° 27 ′ 9.7 " N , 3 ° 39 ′ 15.3" E