Fort, vesting en -onderdelen, Biltsestraatweg bij 160

English translation

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Description

Cluster 38. Fort construction with earthworks.

NEW HOLLAND WATER LINE

Introduction

FORT CONSTRUCTION WITH EARTHWORKS, INCLUDING (REMAINS OF) GUN EMPLACEMENT POSITIONS, WET MOAT WITH OUTER BANKS AND (RELICS OF DIVERSION AND MAINTENANCE) ROADS, WITH FENCING AND WITH COMPONENTS BUILT AND LAID OUT BEFORE 1960 as basic and typical components of Fort De Bilt. Forts were usually constructed on the basis of earthworks laid down in advance, which served as a foundation and were intended to prevent subsidence in (a wet and soft) soil. In the construction of forts, in addition to this usually already tactically 'pre-formed' earthwork - which in itself could already perform a defensive role - a specific layout 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, earthen ramparts that covered buildings and open ground and determined the outlines, and paved paths and parade grounds. Forts were usually surrounded by one or more wet or dry moats to obstruct any approach to the fortification or fort grounds by an enemy until the last moment. 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 inside and outside existed, it was designed in such a way that it could only be crossed with the greatest difficulty. The use of so-called caltrop obstacles, monks (at fortifications) and/or fencing was customary in this regard. Along the outside of the moats there was often a road or path, which could be laid out in the form of a covered way (glacis/envelope), as well as at or even above ground level. These roads or paths could serve 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 moat, there is moreover often a zone marked by boundary stones (traditionally and still partly) over which the Ministry of War had authority, the so-called Military Crown Land. Within, around or near various forts, (laid out in one or more phases or otherwise) difficult-to-penetrate, camouflaging or otherwise functional forms of planting have been applied, such as thorn hedges, trees and shrubs, coppice and garden planting. Relics of these may occur, but replacement, expansion or (strong) typological or layout modification has often taken place.

Fort De Bilt differs from this general picture in that its (main) access to be defended, the Biltsestraatweg, was around 1930 led straight through the fort, while at the same time an extra forward defence was also constructed in the form of the Concrete Works at Griftenstein. This meant in practice that two half-forts were created, with a total of three casemates in the frontal ramparts. In more recent years various modifications to the work have taken place, including a modernisation of the residential/barracks functions in the southern part. To this end, after the war some new buildings and roads etc. were constructed, which are of secondary importance for the protection of the installation. From time immemorial there has been a public diversion road on the south side of the fort, which is now paved with clinker brick. Two former access bridges on the gorge side of the fort have been removed, but remains or traces of these - as well as of other cleared works - may still be present on the fort.

Description

FORT CONSTRUCTION WITH EARTHWORKS, INCLUDING (REMAINS OF) GUN EMPLACEMENT POSITIONS, WET MOAT WITH OUTER BANKS AND (RELICS OF DIVERSION AND MAINTENANCE) ROADS, WITH FENCING AND WITH COMPONENTS BUILT AND LAID OUT BEFORE 1960 of Fort De Bilt, consisting mainly of a five-sided, in ground plan almost symmetrical earthwork with an almost straight gorge side and with four originally angular bastions. It previously included a redoubt located on a separate island on the gorge side, but this was cleared around 1930, as was the central part of the centrally located barracks. Around that time the fort was divided in two and the Biltsestraatweg, one of Utrecht's most important access roads, was led through the fort. The fort is surrounded by a wet moat; the road laid across the fort around 1930 divided the moat into a northern and a southern part, but these are connected to each other by means of culverts. The earthworks enclose the fort grounds or terreplein almost completely, while several large bomb-proof buildings are also covered by earthworks. The earthworks of the fort include remains of gun emplacement positions within the fort moat, while in various places (earth-covered) (concrete) components from the 19th and 20th centuries are located. The fort/both fort parts are partially bounded by fencing; this is particularly the case along the Biltsestraatweg where brick pilasters with natural stone caps and low wall sections with iron railings with balusters between them have been placed. The moat of Fort De Bilt is still almost completely present and forms a spacious frame around the fort installation; only where the moat crosses the Biltsestraatweg have culverts been laid.

Valuation

The FORT CONSTRUCTION WITH EARTHWORKS, INCLUDING (REMAINS OF) GUN EMPLACEMENT POSITIONS, WET MOAT WITH OUTER BANKS AND (RELICS OF DIVERSION AND MAINTENANCE) ROADS, WITH FENCING AND WITH COMPONENTS BUILT AND LAID OUT BEFORE 1960 of Fort De Bilt is of general importance because of:

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

* Architectural-historical values in particular as an expression of military-strategic engineering, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and access defence (19th century), b. the race with increasingly strengthened offensive means (19th century), c. the system of 'living' field fortification (20th century).

The component is an example of an earthen installation with roads and path system, earth covering for various functions, moat, (diversion) roads and military zone indicated by boundary stones from the period 1816-1819, which was improved in later development phases and which is characterised in particular by the integrated civilian (residential) functions within it.

* Ensemble value and situational values because of its location within the system of the New Holland Water Line.

* The component is representative (characteristic) because it shows different phases in the development of access defence on a large scale and in particular that of the application of earth covering and wet moats around forts. Exceptional is the traffic road from De Bilt to Utrecht led through the fort around 1930, as a result of which the work effectively consists of two separate, roughly equivalent components.

* The component is reasonably well preserved because the system of protection by means of earth covering has remained fairly recognisable and because the ground plan and the entire moat have been largely preserved in the state of around 1940.