Deelen/Kop van Deelen

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 Kop van Deelen and surroundings consists of sandy soils thrust up high by glacial ice and lower leaching zones and sand flats, with a water management system that naturally allowed human settlement here and there. Deelen and surroundings were already inhabited in prehistoric times, but especially from recent centuries much data about the hamlet Deelen is known, also through cartographic material. Here and there traces from pre-, proto- and/or early historic times have been found. Deelen was a linear settlement of only a few farms and dwellings, with arable land and pastures around it - the whole surrounded by and intersected with wind shelterbelts and game fences. The terrain on which the building complex and military camp Kop van Deelen was now laid out is approximately 20 m higher than the military airfield Deelen realised to the southwest of it. Kop van Deelen displays between two 'peaks' of more than 80 m a slight slope from northeast to southwest and descends there from more than 75 m +NAP to approximately 65 m; the airfield lies at approximately 50 m +NAP. The slope has long been followed by a roughly northeast to southwest running road, the Brinkhorsterweg, which was in fact a short shared route of a number of local sand paths. With this the former hamlet Deelen, which lay as an oasis on the Veluwe, was a traffic junction. Through two-sided closure of the road in 1940 the former Brinkhorsterweg lost its traffic function entirely, although it now still forms the main axis of the military camp. The already scarce old buildings of Deelen, which moreover were situated mainly more to the southwest and thus lower along the Brinkhorsterweg, were almost completely demolished during the laying out of Dorf Deelen and left no noteworthy traces on the surface within the military camp. Existing wind shelterbelts and/or game fences around the old hamlet Deelen, particularly those in the southwest and (south)east, were given new life at that same time: they came to function more than ever as roads and further especially as camouflage screens. Both the southwestern camouflage screen and the section of the Hooilaan running more or less parallel to it were utilised in 1940 as a basis for erecting military structures. And of course the same applied to the part of the Brinkhorsterweg at right angles to these two axes, with in the far northeast the forked relic of two adjoining sand paths. The road network of old Deelen was meanwhile supplemented with some extra connections, which not only had a traffic purpose, but which were also intended to contribute to a 'staged organic development or ad hoc character' of the settlement: 'Dorf Deelen' was camouflaged as an average Veluwe open-field village. Presumably also for this reason a cutting-off road from the operational to the accommodation buildings was laid, and furthermore there were also two 'back lanes'. The Brinkhorsterweg and the road at right angles to it under the camouflage screen together form the 'right angle' in the ground plan of 'Dorf Deelen', while the cutting-off road forms the slanted side of a rectangular triangle. All connections on the terrain were hardened with 'typically Dutch' brick clinker work, which was laid in different patterns, while the paths to and around the buildings on the terrain were surfaced with 30 x 30 cm concrete tiles. The terrain, triangular in main outline, was entirely enclosed by paling and fencing executed in concrete and wire and where necessary sealed off with earthen banks: the old shelterbelts and banks served as the guide. Presumably also as a result of the camouflage as a Veluwe village a clear assembly ground from German times is hardly to be identified, but east of building 23 there is now a brick base with flagpole and opposite to this appears on the topographic map of around 1955 a more or less rectangular green terrain that could have functioned as such.

Both the pattern of roads and paths and part of the originally applied material are still present or recognisable in the field, while the former through-going character of it is also well recognisable. Part of the main connections has been somewhat streamlined and provided with an asphalt wearing course, but the smaller roads and paths are still in a condition that recalls that of 1940. The same applies to the paling works, banks and wind shelterbelts ('camouflage screens') which are even practically intact. Thus within and at several places on the boundaries of the terrain there is still a clear lane structure recognisable, whose origin goes back to the wind shelterbelts and game fences already appearing on maps in the early 19th century.

In the arrangement of 'Dorf Deelen' deliberate use was made of the existing relief, which made it possible without the construction of a traffic tower or other tall structures to overlook the airfield. Incidentally there did come a high observation post, but first and foremost several structures directly 'related to air traffic' appeared on the relatively steep southwest side of the slope. Higher up - in the area with gentler relief and thus with less 'natural' view - mainly enlisted men's accommodation and shelters for associated functions were established. The buildings were erected mainly along the previously existing roads, but their concrete siting gave an ad hoc impression. They were placed at different distances from the roads, were positioned with the roof ridge in different directions and were also different in ground plan and volume. Furthermore the buildings were executed in such a way that through their roof form, painted shutters, outbuildings and yards they could pass for indigenous farms and dwellings. Particularly the differently executed roof forms - mainly gabled roofs, half-hipped roofs and hipped roofs were applied - and the non-uniform colouring of the tile covering provided building-bound camouflage of this - objectively speaking - 'remarkable' situated military settlement. Another important aspect of the camouflage of the military camp was the dressing of the space. Maps from the 1930s show terrain only partly covered with standing vegetation, which was further characterised by uneven grassland and small fields. Many fields were even clearly recognisable as separate 'strips' towards the end of the war, while the grassland, which had partly been used for the construction of the accommodation, showed clear traces of the division into small house plots - at least of cultivation and parcelling. There were also tile paths and small banks laid, partly functional, but of course also with the aim of giving the camp an innocent appearance. Especially in the first phase of the layout of airfield Deelen nothing was left undone to optimise the camouflage; not only agricultural operations were simulated, but also actually practised! Besides these functionally appearing artefacts purely aesthetic aspects were not forgotten. Some of the most striking - and presumably deliberately eye-catching - were the partly brick masonry executed garden layout on the northwest side of the fire station and the water feature laid out as ornamental pond or natural watering place between the Brinkhorsterweg and the adjoining back lane. This irregularly shaped water feature, executed with a concrete base, was in fact however a fire-fighting water cistern.

Many artefacts brought about for functional purposes and/or as part of camouflage on the camp are still recognisable or practically intact in the terrain. This concerns first and foremost the buildings, but also the garden layout at the fire station, the irregularly shaped water feature and the tile paths created as part of yard arrangement still form striking facets of the detailed arrangement of Dorf Deelen dating from 1940.

Not by chance an observation post (on the chimney of the boiler house) and a bunker with facilities for the communications units were built on the relatively high northwest and southeast sides of the terrain respectively. The boiler house was also the heart of one of the first district heating systems in the Netherlands - and possibly the very first. For this purpose the camp was provided underground with a network of heating pipes, of which at some places the manhole covers are visible. Additional heating could take place on site via normal stoves or fireplaces. This part of the infrastructure also included the water pipe, which was fed from the pump house at the present Hoenderloseweg, on the corner of the former Brinkhorsterweg, and of which the pipes on the terrain further followed a comparable route. The electricity distribution took place from the transformer house located east of the main entrance; presumably the current transport to the consumer - unlike as is customary nowadays - took place above ground. As regards (waste)water disposal the septic system was used: via a pipe system with overflow and settling pits, executed in cast iron, clay pipe, masonry and concrete, a separate outlet was laid for each building. The camp furthermore comprised a number of fire-fighting provisions, including fire-fighting water cisterns and fire-fighting water bunkers; the latter underground, to also be available during frost.

The various originally underground systems are still present in more or less complete and original form and partly also still operational; of the fire-fighting water cisterns several are still clearly recognisable, filled with water and thus usable. The electricity network however was - except for the transformer house - replaced after the war; here and there switching and fastening material still remains that could date from the construction period.

Valuation

TERRAIN with LAYOUT of Kop van Deelen, of general importance as a relatively intact component of a major military airfield 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 can among others be demonstrated from the predominantly locality-inspired traditionalist building style, from the components and details characteristic of the construction period, from the elements incorporated in the concept, partly already present in the landscape and partly inspired by it, from the use of the natural relief and the existing wind shelterbelt structure in the execution of the concept, from the largely maintained authentic course and the partly likewise authentic execution of roads and paths, from the quasi-agricultural function of the buildings and the partly maintained and partly quasi-agricultural functions of the grounds, from the relics of technical innovation, from the rural structure artificially set up with linear and open-field village characteristics and with camouflage carried through to ponds, garden layout and detailing, from the coherence of and with the total military airfield concept and the spatial main lines and components of the camp, and from the mutual relationship of the forms applied in this.