Fort, vesting en -onderdelen, Biltsestraatweg bij 160

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 38. Rifle Ranges (I-III).

NEW HOLLANDIC WATERLINE

Introduction

RIFLE RANGES (I-III) as components of an ensemble of shooting ranges on Fort De Bilt. A ready army required, among other things, trained infantry and artillery. To bring and/or maintain readiness at the required level, shooting ranges were constructed in many places throughout the country. They are sometimes explicitly indicated as such on historical topographic maps, among others to the northwest of Arnhem, near Amersfoort and at several locations in the dune area (including near Bloemendaal). At this latter location, the bullet trap is even indicated. A bullet trap is a wall or other structure that catches bullets that have missed the target or pierced shooting screens. Bullet gates are comparable objects, but with a slightly different purpose: by placing bullet gates - provided with holes - precisely in rows, 'strays' could be 'caught'. One bullet gate at the Werk aan het Spoel has been preserved. Most shooting ranges are mapped in the form of a number of more or less parallel dotted lines and a small square. Shooting ranges are part of terrains equipped with targets for firearms practice. Sometimes these also included shelters for materials, such as target sheds for shooting screens. The shooting ranges at Fort De Bilt and at the Werk aan het Spoel do not appear on the Bonnebladen, 1:25,000. (N.B. Forts, as secret military objects, are not or scarcely shown on later (twentieth-century) editions of the Bonnebladen. The shooting ranges at Fort De Bilt are still largely present and include on the northern part of the fort, among others, the oldest still existing, though later modernized Rifle Ranges (I-III), with several bullet gates and a bullet trap at the northern end of the range. The three ranges lie on the west side of the fort, parallel with the western wall; they remained in use until after the Second World War.

Description

RIFLE RANGES (I-III) at Fort De Bilt (presumably dating from around 1890, but modernized in the 1930s) which include, among other things, several bullet gates arranged in linear relationship and a bullet trap on a grass field. The length of the three ranges is approximately 100 metres, the width 15 to 20 metres. The bullet gates consist of a series of six concrete gates placed one behind the other, partly lined with wood, angular in execution, with funnel-shaped passages that could prevent 'straying' of possibly misdirected or deflected bullets. The gates also functioned as an optical illusion during practice. The similarly funnel-shaped bullet trap formed the end target, in which bullets were caught and deadened. The shooting range derives particular significance from the fact that other ranges and a target shed are located in its immediate vicinity.

Valuation

The RIFLE RANGES (I-III) at Fort De Bilt are of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie as designed by C.R.T. Kraijenhoff and initially realized 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 craft, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and accesses (nineteenth century), b. the race with increasingly strengthened offensive means (nineteenth and twentieth centuries).

This concerns a shooting range from around 1900 which, although later modified and modernized, is part of a rare ensemble of comparable objects.

* Ensemble value and situational values as part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie. Also because of the functional and physical connection with the other components of the complex and in particular with several nearby shooting ranges and a target shed.

The component is representative (characteristic) because it clearly shows the former function through the presence of bullet gates and a bullet trap.

The component is fairly rare because few comparable, largely complete installations from the same period in this form and in connection with other military works have been preserved.

The component is fairly well preserved and can still be readily recognized in the field as a built and constructed element.