Schuilplaats, Werken aan de Karnemelksloot Naarden (Gooise meren 27)

English translation

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Description

Cluster 9. Shelter type 1915.

NEW HOLLANDSE WATERLINIE

Introduction

SHELTER TYPE 1915 as a constructed component of additional defensive works of the Fortress Naarden and the Works at the Karnemelksloot, erected during the mobilisation period 1914-1919. Naarden lies on the high grounds between the Naardermeer and the Zuiderzee, which formed an access to Amsterdam and was one of the most important fortress towns of the Old Hollandse Waterlinie. The waterlinie was primarily based on the inundation of low-lying grounds in order to prevent the enemy from passing. However, Naarden lay on the high spurs of the Gooi, which hindered the inundations. It was decided to excavate the high grounds. The Works at the Karnemelksloot are part of the efforts to hold water around the Fortress Naarden. In 1787, a dam sluice was constructed in the Karnemelksloot, which was to retain the inundation water. To protect the dam sluice, two small, ditched, earthen lunettes were constructed in 1787 on either side of the Karnemelksloot. Besides defending the sluice, they also served to prevent the enemy from passing Naarden from the south side. These lunettes were demolished in the French period but at the time of the New Hollandse Waterlinie, around 1873-1875, were enlarged and provided with bombproof structures. The fort-keeper's dwelling Naardermeer 7 must also date from this period. The fortifications of the New Hollandse Waterlinie soon proved obsolete. As a result of improvements to artillery, it became possible to engage targets effectively from ever greater distances. Therefore, during the mobilisation periods of 1914-1919 and 1939-1940, it was decided to construct additional defensive works in front of and near the actual works, which were executed in the form of group nests, group shelters, gun casemates and obstructions. On the east and south sides of Naarden, a defence line of several kilometres in length was created during the mobilisation period 1914-1919. At the Karnemelksloot, barbed wire obstructions and shelters were constructed. Between the works and the fortress, new batteries and infantry trenches were realised. Of the works from 1914-1918, among other things, a shelter type 1915 remains, which is situated in the inundation fields west of the western battery.

Shelters of type 1915 arose as a result of the trench warfare conducted in the First World War in the countries surrounding us. Heavy artillery bombardments required provisions for the protection of personnel and weapons. Shelters of type 1915 were waiting spaces that were integrated into the trenches at important accesses. The structures provided space for approximately 16 men. They were built according to a standardised design and were fragment-proof, meaning that they offered a certain degree of protection against shrapnel. These and similar early concrete works also served as experiments. At the Karnemelksloot, the Shelter type 1915 to the north-west of the western lunette formed part of the line that was erected to the north of the lunettes during the mobilisation period 1914-1918, extending to the Fortress Naarden.

Description

In the inundation field directly to the north-west of the west battery of the Works at the Karnemelksloot lies a SHELTER TYPE 1915. The shelter is a partially excavated rectangular, reinforced concrete (0.15 m) structure with a floor plan of 8.20 x 2.20 x 1.50 m (l x w x h), with a bevelled south gable to achieve the deflection of grenades. The interior is reinforced with four supporting walls. In the north gable, with overhang, two former entrances and several window openings are visible, originally closeable with steel shutters. The structure was previously covered with soil on the front side and top side.

Valuation

The SHELTER TYPE 1915 is of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the New Hollandse Waterlinie as designed by C.R.T. Kraijenhoff and initially realised from 1815 by him, Jan Blanken and Major-engineer Willem Offerhaus and subsequently strengthened and improved by others over approximately 125 years.

* Architectural-historical values in particular as an expression of military-strategic architecture, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and access defence (20th century), b. the race with increasingly powerful offensive means (20th century) c. the system of 'living' field fortification in depth (20th century)

The component is an example of a shelter Type 1915, from the period 1914-1918, when field fortification was thrown up between the Works at the Karnemelksloot and the Fortress Naarden, as part of a larger field fortification, the Defensive scheme for Naarden.

* Ensemble value and situational values as part of the New Hollandse Waterlinie. Also because of the functional and physical coherence with the other components of the complex and as a reminder of the field fortifications that lay here.

* The component is relatively rare as the only shelter of Type 1915 in this area and as a characteristic and scarce remnant of the field fortifications from the period 1914-1918 and as a concrete experiment in military use.

* The component is reasonably well preserved because the structure remains in its entirety, with the exception of details such as doors and windows, and because it can still be recognised in its original function in the field.