Fort, vesting en -onderdelen, Batterij onder Brakel

English translation

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Description

Cluster 76.

NEW HOLLAND WATERLINE

Introduction

BATTERY INSTALLATION AND EARTHWORKS, (REMAINS OF) CONCRETE PARAPET, WET DITCH WITH OUTER BANKS AND PART OF DIVERSION ROAD AND ZONE ORIGINALLY MARKED BY BOUNDARY STONES as basic elements of the Battery under Brakel. Forts were usually constructed on the basis of pre-made earth bodies that served as a foundation and prevented subsidence in (a wet and soft) soil. In the construction of the forts, apart from this usually already tactically 'pre-formed' earth body - which in itself could already fulfil a defensive role - a specific installation was also realised that was intended to increase defensive strength, ensure the safety of the garrison and facilitate internal and external transport and traffic. In this way, among other things, earth coverings were created for various structures to make them less vulnerable to enemy fire, earth ramparts that covered buildings and open areas and determined contours, and paved paths and parade grounds. Forts were usually surrounded by one or more wet or dry ditches to hinder any approach to the rampart or the fort grounds as long as possible. The forts were usually only accessible via one or more bridges or via a narrow isthmus. Where a permanent direct connection between interior and exterior existed for water-management or other reasons, it was constructed in such a way that it could not or only with great difficulty be crossed. The use of so-called chevaux-de-frise, monks (especially at fortifications) and/or gates was common in this regard. Along the outside of the ditches there was often a road or path, which could be laid out in the form of a covered way, but also level with, or even above ground level. These roads or paths could have various functions, ranging from public road to maintenance path, and also from military covered way to exclusive access road to the fort. Outside the wet ditch there is often also a (traditionally and still partly) zone marked with boundary stones over which the Ministry of War had jurisdiction, the Military Crown Land.

The Battery under Brakel formed no exception to this principle, but serious problems were encountered in the construction of the earth body, which subsided considerably due to the soft subsoil. Partly as a result of this, it was executed on a smaller scale than originally intended. The fort was previously accessible via a bridge over the ditch on the west side, but this was removed and replaced by a dam.

Description

BATTERY INSTALLATION AND EARTHWORKS, (REMAINS OF) CONCRETE PARAPET, WET DITCH WITH OUTER BANKS AND PART OF DIVERSION ROAD AND ZONE ORIGINALLY MARKED BY BOUNDARY STONES consisting essentially of a roughly oval, asymmetrical earthwork with various levels, of which the gorge side has a relatively straight course and the outer slope has rounded forms, so that the ground plan approximately forms the capital letter 'D'. The partly levelled earthworks, which date from 1879 and subsequent years, still recall the former enclosure of the fort grounds or terreplein. The centrally located bombproof building is covered by earthworks and has two projecting wings which together with the main façade form a kind of forecourt. There are remains of a concrete parapet. The battery was built at the time in the southeastern angle of the T-junction of the Zuidelijke Waaldijk and the Nieuwendijk, with the result that the (public) roads over these two dykes lie to the north and west of the work; access is via a quay running parallel with the Nieuwendijk on the east side and a path perpendicular to it that emerges slightly south of the centre of the fort. The main form of the work still corresponds closely to that which appears on the Chromotropographic Map of the Netherlands of around 1880, on which, however, only the contours are sketched due to secrecy. In the centre of the fort lies an earth-covered, bombproof building that served as accommodation for troops and materiel. The ditch of the Battery under Brakel is still virtually complete and forms a spacious frame around the layout of the fort. Around the ditch lies a maintenance path at approximately ground level. The zone originally marked with boundary stones as such, the Military Crown Land, over which the Ministry of War had jurisdiction, is indicated on the map attached to this document.

Valuation:

BATTERY INSTALLATION AND EARTHWORKS, (REMAINS OF) CONCRETE PARAPET, WET DITCH WITH OUTER BANKS AND PART OF DIVERSION ROAD AND ZONE ORIGINALLY MARKED BY BOUNDARY STONES of the Battery under Brakel are of general interest because of:

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

* Architectural-historical values in particular as an expression of military-strategic building construction, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and access defence (19th century), b. the race with strengthening offensive means (19th century).

The component is an example of an earth installation, with earth covering for a structure with various functions, ditch, diversion road and military zone marked by means of boundary stones from the period 1879-1884.

* Ensemble value and situational values through the location within the system of the New Holland Waterline in general and in particular through the substantially intact relationship with the field of fire.

* The component is representative because it shows access defence in a largely unimpaired physical environment and in particular that of the use of wet ditches around forts.

* The component is reasonably well preserved because the ground plan, the ditch and the (maintenance) paths have been largely preserved unchanged.