Fortress "Fort Vechten"

Central corridor, officers urinal and cast iron central staircase.

Fort Vechten is part of a defensive line of some 30 fortresses build between about 1840 up to 1890, that was supposed to protect the western part of the Netherlands from foreign invasion. It used a unique defensive approach, using the fortresses in combination with careful controlled flooding of the polders surrounding them, making passage of armies impossible. The "Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie" now runs for inclusion on the World Heritage List of the UN.