Star Shaped Fort Bourtange in Netherlands
In the 15th century, during the age of gunpowder when the cannon came to
dominate the battlefield, a new style of fortification evolved in
Europe. Roughly resembling the shape of a star, these fortifications had
many triangular bastions, specifically designed to cover each other,
and a wide ditch. In order to counteract the cannon balls, defensive
walls were made lower and thicker and were protected by gently sloping
banks of earth called glacis in front of ditches so that the walls were
almost totally hidden from horizontal artillery fire. The new
fortification became so popular that the design was swiftly adopted by
other nations as far as India and Japan.
Fort Bourtange is such a star fort located in the village of Bourtange, Groningen, Netherlands. It was built in 1593 under the orders of William the I of Orange, to control the only road between Germany and the city of Groningen, which was controlled by the Spaniards during the time of the Eighty Years' War.
During the Eighty Years' War, the Spaniards had control over Groningen
and the road leading from there to Germany. William, the leader of the
Netherlands, saw it necessary to break off communications between
Groningen and Germany. He decided that it would be optimal to build a
fortification on the Bourtange passage, which was the main road leading
to Germany. The fort was completed in 1593 in the design of a star with a
network of canals and lakes which were used as moats. At its heart was a
central square with streets that led directly to various bastions
within the protective moat. At the very year of its completion, Spanish
forces tried to besiege it but the attack ended in failure. 10 more images after the break...
Fort Bourtange faced another battle in 1672 against a marauding German
army. After capturing 28 cities and towns in the northern Netherlands,
they demanded that the Fort be surrendered. Legend states that the
Germans offered the fort's governor, Captain Protts, 20,000 guilders to
surrender. Captain Prott refused saying he had an equal number of
bullets for his foe. The Germans attacked but the fort’s trusted defense
once again successfully repelled the attack.
Eventually, in 1851 the fort town of Bourtange was converted into a
village. Over 100 years later in 1960, the local government decided to
restore the old Fort to its 1740-1750 appearance and made into a
historical museum.
