Deelen/Klein-Heidekamp

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Description

TERRAIN with LAYOUT. The soil of the Klein-Heidekamp and surroundings consists of sand and forms part of a relatively flat area in the southern Veluwe pushed up by glacial ice. The camp lies south of the Koningsweg, a straight road running roughly east-west along the south side of the Kemperberg. This road is believed to date in rudimentary form from the last quarter of the 17th century - the time when stadhouder Willem III was king of England. The Koningsweg remains present as an important connection and as a spatially structuring element, also because it functioned as a basis for reclamation and settlement. To the east of the Kemperberg, from the middle of the 19th century onwards, (reclamation) estates with (rented) farmhouses were established on either side of the Koningsweg, particularly on lands of the local nobility and/or large landowners. In practice, farming on the poor Veluwe soils proved difficult, and especially on the south side of the Koningsweg, forestry soon became dominant and large-scale hunting was also carried out here. Klein Heidekamp was laid out on the gently south-westerly sloping sandy grounds of the former hunting ground south of the reclamation farmhouse Dresden, between the Deelensche Weg and the current Clément van Maasdijklaan. While the northern and southern parts of this terrain were intersected around 1940 by a number of forest lanes, the choice was made for the relatively sparsely vegetated heart of the terrain. Here, a road pattern developed that only partially connected to the existing forest lane structure, characterized by gently curved, mostly flowing lines and sometimes abrupt bends. The total network, thanks to two more or less parallel axes, has a predominantly greatest extension from north to south, which may be a result of realized connections between the existing forest lanes. Perpendicular to both roughly north-south running axes is an east-west connection running via several 'bayonet-like' offsets, and further there are some intermediate lanes and - particularly in the north - some bent 'back lanes'. The newly laid roads were almost entirely (and presumably in various patterns) paved with clinkers, while efforts were made to make the layout as far as possible align with the surrounding landscape, among other things by planting and local densification of greenery and the rough suggestion of a green common structure. This integration formed part of the occupier's camouflage strategy, which sought to make roads, greenery and buildings blend as much as possible into the existing or location-characteristic forms and structures. Tile paths of 30 x 30 cm concrete tiles were laid to and around the buildings. The camp was enclosed with wire barriers mounted in concrete posts, but on some places (permanent or temporary) accesses to the terrain were realized. The real entrance was that at the east end of the cross-connection across the terrain, where via the current Clément van Maasdijklaan a direct connection existed with Groot-Heidekamp. Presumably partly as a result of the camouflage as a villa village, a clear assembly point stemming from the German period is scarcely identifiable, but between building 1-3 (the command building) and building 1-5 (the gate building) there is now still a green open space that appears on the topographical map of around 1955 in a more spacious form rounded off in the south-east, and which could have functioned as such.

Both the pattern of roads and paths and some of the originally applied material is still present or recognizable in the field, while the intended character of the layout is also still clearly recognizable. Some of the main connections have an asphalt wearing course, but the smaller roads and paths remain in a condition reminiscent of the 1940-1945 years. The main entrance, characterized by brick gate posts and a wall, is still present, while other - modified or unmodified - entrances are still clearly recognizable as such.

Klein-Heidekamp was primarily intended for the housing of (non-)commissioned officers and was fitted out with several dozen larger and smaller dwellings, which were occupied in various densities and which in a number of cases were executed as double dwellings. The buildings were erected mainly along the specially laid out roads, but their specific location gave an ad hoc impression. They were placed at different distances from the roads, were positioned with their roof ridge in different directions, and also differed in floor plan and volume. Furthermore, the buildings were executed in such a way that by their roof form, painted shutters, outbuildings and courtyards they could pass for indigenous dwellings and - to a limited extent - for farmhouses. In particular, the differently executed roof forms - mainly gabled roofs, half-hipped roofs and hipped roofs were applied - and the non-uniform coloration of the tile covering provided building-bound camouflage. Besides this, aesthetic aspects were not forgotten. Some of the most striking - and presumably deliberately conspicuous - of these were the garden layouts partly executed in masonry, such as those on the east side of the main building on the camp, the 'Geschwaderbefehlsstelle', and the tile paths and lawns included as part of 'innocence'.

Many artefacts created on the camp for functional purposes and/or as part of camouflage are still recognizable or virtually intact in the terrain. These are of course primarily the buildings, but also the garden and terrace layout at the main building and the tile paths still form striking aspects of the detailed layout of Kleines Heidelager dating from 1940.

In the middle of the terrain, the boiler house of a central district heating system was built, which can be considered one of the oldest in the Netherlands. The camp was provided underground with a network of heating pipes, of which putlids are visible in several places. Additional heating could take place on site via normal stoves or fireplaces. The electricity distribution took place from the transformer house located approximately opposite the main building; the consumption current transport took place - contrary to what is currently common - above ground. As for (waste) water drainage, the septic system was used: via a pipe system with overflow and settling pits, executed in cast iron, earthenware pipe, masonry and concrete, a drainage was laid for each building separately. The camp included a number of underground firefighting water bunkers - the latter to also have firefighting water available in case of frost.

The various originally underground systems are still present in more or less complete and original form and partly still operational; of the firefighting water pools, some are still clearly recognizable, filled with water and thus usable. The electricity network was - except for the transformer house - replaced after the war; here and there some switching and fixing material still remains that could date from the construction period.

Valuation

TERRAIN with LAYOUT of Klein-Heidekamp, of general importance as a relatively intact component of a large military airfield dating from the Second World War and set up by the German occupier, on account of: architectural-historical, urban planning, historical-geographical, technical-historical, military and cultural-historical and complex and ensemble values, which may be demonstrated inter alia by the predominantly traditionalist building style inspired by local forms, by the components and details characteristic of the construction period, by the elements incorporated in the concept, partly already present in the landscape and partly inspired by it, by the quasi-authentic course and likewise execution of roads and paths, by the relics of technical innovation, by the villa village-like structure artificially set up with linear and green common characteristics and with camouflage carried through to the finest detail, by the relationship with and to the total military airfield concept and the spatial main lines and components of the encampment, and by the mutual affinity of the forms applied herein.