Versperring, Fort Blauwkapel Utrecht

English translation

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Description

Cluster 33. Concrete blocks from (tank) barriers.

NEW HOLLAND WATERLINE

Introduction

6 CONCRETE BLOCKS FROM (TANK) BARRIERS as remains of obstacles for traffic on the extreme north and south sides of the fort, of which two, possibly three are of Dutch origin and two of German origin and executed as concrete blocks for the placement of steel profile beams ('asparagus'). Also a barrier executed as a concrete block for fixation of tetrahedrons. The establishment of obstacles to impede or delay the advance of enemy troops has a long history. Important artificial obstacles have long included, among other things, ditches, waterlines, felled trees and disabled bridges. With the rise of mechanical (such as the steam train) and motorised (armoured vehicles and tanks) means of transport, heavier materials have been deployed, including steel and (reinforced) concrete barriers. One of the systems applied from the mid-1930s onwards consisted of diagonally upright and pointed steel (H-) profile beams, which not only greatly impeded the passage of such means of transport, but could also cause heavy damage to them. Such obstacles could be assembled from one (Type I) or two rows (Type II) of profile beams. After removing the cast iron covers and installing diagonally anchored, pointed steel profile beams (so-called 'asparagus') in slots in the concrete block, the progress of vehicles, including tanks and armoured vehicles, could be impeded. Tank obstacles were usually built up from interconnected systems of barriers, in which, in addition to water (including, in particular, anti-tank ditches), concrete and steel constructions (the tank barriers) were also to slow down progress. Another well-known obstacle was the tetrahedron - a movable triangular concrete block (also a steel construction), which could be applied in groups at checkpoints, road passages and bridges. At the eve of the Second World War, the Dutch army in the New Holland Waterline used, among other things, anti-tank ditches and concrete blocks with steel profile beams. The number of tank barriers laid in the New Holland Waterline is not known; around the year 2000 there were still approximately 10 recognisable ones present, of which 1 was complete. In the following years, specimens have been found (again) at several locations, some of which can be added to this number. Apart from the Dutch defence, two tank barriers were also made on Fort Blauwkapel by German troops in 1944-1945. Within the Fort Blauwkapel complex, remains of four (tank) barriers are thus recognisable; a fifth lies under the asphalt to the north-east of the fort. The two German barriers on the north and south side of the fort are most clearly visible, both on Kapelweg. The northern one (no. 1) is located near the junction with Bastionweg and the southern one (no. 2) near the (new) access bridge to the fort. These two concrete blocks are still provided with embedded pieces of rail in the verge of Kapelweg. Right next to the northern German tank barrier lies the concrete block of a Dutch tank barrier (Type II) (no. 3). On the south side of the fort - in front of the bridge to the redoubt - there is also a concrete block present; of this only indirect traces are still observable (no. 4). This concerns a concrete foundation with a number of eyes, to which tetrahedrons could be fastened by means of chains. In the road to the north-east of the fort, the foundation of a Dutch tank barrier (no. 5) also lies under the asphalt, which connects to an anti-tank ditch laid with a right-angled bend, but in the meantime silted up, from 1939-1940, which lay between this road and the Utrecht-Hilversum railway line. In Bastionweg, near the entrance to the redoubt, there are traces in the road that may indicate a concrete block of a tank barrier (no. 6).

Description

6 CONCRETE BLOCKS FROM (TANK) BARRIERS which were to (further) impede enemy passage in both directions along Kapelweg and via the diversion road running around the fort on the south side. 1. The German barrier in Kapelweg on the north side of the fort is flanked by the fort's ditch at that location, which thus formed part of the obstacle. The structure consists of a concrete block across the road (approx. 12 x 3 m), which is partly hidden under asphalt, but of which parts are visible on either side of the road surface and in which steel profile beams pointing northward are present on both sides. 2. The German barrier in Kapelweg on the south side of the fort is also flanked by the fort's ditch at that location, with which it thus formed part of the obstacle. The structure consists of a concrete block across the road (approx. 10 x 3 m), which is partly hidden under asphalt, but of which parts are visible on either side of the road surface and in which steel profile beams pointing southward are present on both sides. 3. Directly south of the German tank barrier no. 1 lies a concrete block of a Dutch tank barrier (Type II), in which steel (H-) profile beams could be placed. 4. A barrier on the south side of the fort in the access to the redoubt paved with hard stone hacked cubes (setts). The barrier is completely hidden under the road surface but is visible in the verges. This barrier was not provided with beams, but consisted of a concrete foundation with a number of still visible eyes, to which tetrahedrons could be fastened by means of chains. 5. A concrete foundation / concrete block of a Dutch barrier Type I or II lying under the asphalt on the north-east side of the fort along Bastionweg, which has become invisible, connecting to the silted-up remnant of an anti-tank ditch from 1939-1940, located between this road and the Utrecht-Hilversum railway line. 6. A barrier type I or II on the south side of the fort, south of the redoubt in Bastionweg, at the point where the western maintenance path branches off. This specimen is also completely hidden under the road surface and the adjoining paving. The location of the structure is indirectly observable through the transition of road surface type and damage to it.

Valuation

6 CONCRETE BLOCKS FROM (TANK) BARRIERS on Fort Blauwkapel are of general interest because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the New Holland Waterline as it was 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 building engineering, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and access defence (19th and 20th centuries), b. the race with increasingly strengthened offensive means (19th and 20th centuries), c. the system of 'living' field fortification in depth (20th century).

This concerns here two or three components from the period 1935-1940 and two from 1944-1945 which are examples of reinforced concrete, cast iron and steel barriers specially constructed for defence against assault vehicles and / or tanks, which formed part of obstacles consisting of either a wet ditch or an inundation zone. And it further concerns one rare example of a Dutch barrier from the pre-war period, which consisted of a concrete block with steel rings to which concrete tetrahedrons could be fixed by means of chains.

* Ensemble value and situational values as part of the New Holland Waterline. Also because of the functional and physical coherence with the other components of the complex.

* Archaeological values because of the (possibly) soil-bound remains and/or traces of (these and other) barriers, of which certainly one (no. 5) lies under the asphalt in the road to the north-east of the fort, consisting of the foundation of a fifth, Dutch tank barrier, which connects to the silted-up remnant of an anti-tank ditch from 1939-1940 between this road and the Utrecht-Hilversum railway line and possibly one in Bastionweg to the south of the fort (no. 6).

* The components have become (relatively) rare and are representative because the barriers have remained recognisable in physical context and in part complete with profile beams in situ and according to function.

* Three of the components are reasonably well preserved because both their concrete mass and (important) parts of the construction and of the application possibilities are observable and recognisable in situ, while two of them are only indirectly observable but are well preserved in situ.