Militair verblijfsgebouw, Betonnen werken bij het werk aan de Bakkerskil Werkendam (Altena 30)

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

Cluster 84.

NEW HOLLANDIC WATERLINE

Introduction

TWO GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P (Both incomplete), as elements added to the existing defensive works in the last months before the outbreak of the Second World War. On two locations in the vicinity of the Work at the Bakkerskil there are group shelters Type P in incomplete state. Both are situated approximately to the east of the work, at the main defensive line behind the inundation zone, which can be regarded as a connecting line. It is possible that over the years other examples have been lost through the relocation of dykes and/or other infrastructural works. Of any former wooden, concrete or earthen structures, such as covered ways, trenches and the like, little or nothing is any longer recognisable on the surface.

This introduction follows the general line for 'group shelters type P', but both examples have not been built further than the second phase, that is to say foundation and part of the superstructure. A roof is missing. The group shelters Type P were built in more or less uniform or standard design (mainly) in the years 1939-1940 in multiple locations in the Netherlands. The total number of built examples is approximately 700, of which in the New Hollandic Waterline approximately 570; the majority (about 400) of these still exist. The building programme of the group shelters Type P was not completed at the outbreak of the Second World War and it is known of a number of examples that they were never completed. Type P (also called 'the pyramid' because of its striking shape) is presumably the most well-known type of concrete defensive work in the Netherlands. The type originated from the so-called VIS 77 (Regulation for the Installation of Positions no. 77) from 1928 and had among other purposes the aim of forming part of the defence of a number of existing and new accesses, including in particular (motor)roads. The group shelter Type P usually came into being in the immediate vicinity of already existing or contemporaneously realised casemates, gun emplacements, fortifications or trenches. Because the trenches and other earthworks were later levelled or demolished almost everywhere, the concrete shelters nowadays sometimes lie partly below ground level. The historically completely closed front or face side of the group shelters Type P was in many cases covered by earthworks which could form part of a glacis for the protection of the trench or a covered way. These earthworks are now mostly no longer present or only recognisable with difficulty, but particularly on forts or in otherwise uneven terrain they are sometimes still present. Numerous examples of Type P were built in inundatable areas, in some cases a visible pile foundation was used; in others a foundation slab extending all around or also a trough against inundation water is visible.

Description

TWO GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P (Both incomplete) which were intended to be realised as single-storey, reinforced in-situ concrete, grenade-proof, military shelters, which could provide protection for 10-12 infantrymen/artillerymen, at protection class W 12-21 or W 21-28. Group shelters Type P were built on rectangular ground plans, with dimensions ranging from approximately 5.50 x 7.20 x 4.70 m to 6.50 x 8.20 x 4.90 m (width x depth x height). In completed examples, both blind side walls and the rear wall are executed vertically to approximately 3 m height. Above this, these walls angle inward at approximately 45 degrees, then transition to a flat roof. In the case of the incomplete group shelters within the complex of Waterworks at the Work at the Bakkerskil, only the foundations and part of the superstructure have been realised, including a rectangular entrance opening. In this clearly incomplete state, the group shelters represent certain values of rarity. The examples are clearly recognisable in the field, although situated at positions of limited accessibility.

Valuation

The TWO GROUP SHELTERS TYPE P (Both incomplete) within the complex of Waterworks at the Work at the Bakkerskil are of general importance because of:

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

* Architectural-historical values, in particular as an expression of military-strategic architecture, which is based on the system of 'living' field fortification in depth (20th century). These are components from the period 1939-1940, namely incomplete group shelters of the type P (pyramid), which visually document the interrupted building process of a robust, reinforced concrete building type.

* Ensemble value and situational values as part of the New Hollandic Waterline in general and because of the mutual functional, functional-spatial and physical coherence with the other components of the complex.

* The components are representative (characteristic) because they have been preserved clearly recognisable in incomplete state and thus mark the abrupt interruption of the building process caused by the outbreak of the Second World War; moreover, in this connection they represent certain values of rarity.

* The components are reasonably well preserved because the principal physical characteristics belonging to the half-completed state have remained clearly recognisable.