Fort, vesting en -onderdelen, Fort Ruigenhoek Groenekan (De Bilt 26)

English translation

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Description

Cluster 31. Fort structures and earthworks.

NEW HOLLANDSE WATERLINIE

Introduction

FORT STRUCTURES AND EARTHWORKS, INCLUDING (REMAINS OF) GUN EMPLACEMENTS, (REMAINS OF) TRENCHES, WET MOAT WITH EXTERIOR EMBANKMENTS AND (DIVERSION AND MAINTENANCE) ROADS AND WITH MILITARY CROWN LAND MARKED SINCE ANCIENT TIMES BY STONE POSTS as basic components of Fort Ruigenhoek (or: Fort on the Ruigenhoeksche Dike). The fort dates in its initial construction from c. 1869-1871, with extensions from c. 1880. Forts were usually constructed on the basis of previously applied earthworks which served as a foundation and prevented subsidence in (wet and soft) soil. In the construction of forts, besides this usually already tactically 'pre-formed' earthwork - which in itself could already perform a defensive role - a specific design was also realised which was intended to increase defensive strength, ensure the safety of the garrison and facilitate internal and external transport and traffic. In this way, amongst other things, earthen coverings were created for various structures to make them less vulnerable to enemy fire, earthen ramparts that covered buildings and open areas and determined contours, and paved paths and parade grounds. Forts were surrounded by (wet) moats to impede any approach to the fortification or fort ground until the last moment. The forts were usually only accessible via one or more bridges or via a narrow isthmus. Where for water management or other reasons a permanent direct connection between interior and exterior areas existed, it was constructed in such a way that it could not or only with the greatest difficulty be crossed. Application of so-called zigzag barriers, obstacles (especially at fortifications) and/or gates was customary for this. Along the outside of the moats there was often a road or path, which could be laid out either in the form of a covered way, or also at or even above ground level. These roads or paths could have different functions, ranging from public road to maintenance path, and also from military covered way to exclusive access road to the fort. Outside the wet moat there is moreover often a zone (marked since ancient times and sometimes still partly) with boundary posts as such over which the Ministry of War had authority, the Military Crown Land. Fort Ruigenhoek was no exception to this principle, but there was no glacis along the roads around the fort, while the Military Crown Land did not - except in the form of some garden land on the south side - extend outside the (maintenance) roads. The fort was accessible via a bridge over the moat on the south-west side. Remains and traces of earthworks, trenches etc. may be present on the structure, also arising in connection with the 20th-century concrete shelters and casemates.

Description

FORT STRUCTURES AND EARTHWORKS, INCLUDING (REMAINS OF) GUN EMPLACEMENTS, (REMAINS OF) TRENCHES, WET MOAT WITH EXTERIOR EMBANKMENTS AND (DIVERSION AND MAINTENANCE) ROADS AND WITH MILITARY CROWN LAND MARKED SINCE ANCIENT TIMES BY STONE POSTS of Fort Ruigenhoek (c. 1869-1871 with later extensions c. 1880). Fort Ruigenhoek consists of a trapezoidal earthwork with on each corner a protruding bastion and on the structure various earth-covered works and remains of gun emplacements. Along the edges of the fort an earthen rampart has been constructed, in which storage places (remises) and concrete components (especially dating from the mobilizations of the 20th century) have been incorporated, including (remains of) trenches and ramparts. On the east side a (earthen) trench system is discernible. The fort is surrounded by an approximately rectangular bounded moat with an inner embankment on the north and west sides of the polder watercourse. The entrance to the fort is located on the south-west side, in line with the Kanonsdijk. The construction includes the road running along the fort on the south-east side, which forms the connection between the Ruigenhoekse Dike and the Kanonsdijk and further the moat is lined by an associated maintenance path. Also the (narrow) originally marked with boundary posts as such zone over which the Ministry of War had authority, the Military Crown Land, forms part of the structure.

Valuation

The FORT STRUCTURES AND EARTHWORKS, INCLUDING (REMAINS OF) GUN EMPLACEMENTS, (REMAINS OF) TRENCHES, WET MOAT WITH EXTERIOR EMBANKMENTS AND (DIVERSION AND MAINTENANCE) ROADS AND WITH MILITARY CROWN LAND MARKED SINCE ANCIENT TIMES BY STONE POSTS of Fort Ruigenhoek (or Fort on the Ruigenhoeksche Dike) is of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie as designed by C.R.T. Kraijenhoff and initially constructed from 1815 by him, Jan Blanken and major-engineer Willem Offerhaus and subsequently strengthened and improved by others over more than 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 (19th century), b. the race with increasingly strong offensive weapons (19th century), c. the system of 'living' field fortification in depth (20th century).

The component is an example of a largely earthen structure, with earthen coverings for buildings with different functions from the period 1869-1871, improved and adapted around 1880 and in various phases in the 20th century.

* Archaeological values due to possible remains or traces of gun emplacements, trenches, earthworks and the like present in the soil.

* Ensemble value and situational values through its location within the system of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie in general, through the exceptional, protruding and not secured by inundatable land position and through the recognizable relationship with the field of fire.

* The component is representative because it is an example of a fort that has been adapted to new circumstances and requirements in different periods and still displays many characteristics of these.

* The component is well-preserved because the earthworks, the ground plan, the moat and the maintenance path have largely remained unchanged.