Fort, vesting en -onderdelen, de Zilveren Schaats e.o. Utrecht

English translation

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Description

Cluster 301. Construction.

NEW DUTCH WATER LINE

Introduction

CONSTRUCTION OF COVERED WAY WITH VERGE DITCH AND SOIL EXTRACTION SITE THE 'ZILVEREN SCHAATS', as a relic of an approximately north-south running covered way between Fort De Bilt and Fort Vossegat and the pond lying parallel to it, created at this location by deep excavation of soil for the raising of the dyke body. The three elongated structural elements lie between the Waterlinieweg laid out in the 1930s (on the east side), the Frederik Hendrikstraat (on the west side) and behind the Prins Hendriklaan (on the north-east side). The Waterlinieweg has functioned since the 1930s as part of an intra-urban ring road, while the Frederik Hendrikstraat and Prins Hendriklaan are built up on either side with continuous residential buildings of various types from the first half of the 20th century. Behind the houses on the east side of the Frederik Hendrikstraat lie gardens bordering the water of the 'Zilveren Schaats'. The water, which became known as the 'Zilveren Schaats', was as such a 'Military water', but - partly because a city park was planned and laid out in the adjacent area to the west around 1890 (which was named Wilhelminapark in 1898), it actually became part of the public (city) waters in practice. The street plan between the present-day Koningslaan and the Frederik Hendrikstraat dates from around 1900. The fact that in this area, from its creation around 1870, recreation was sought in this water, which was only indirectly connected to the (polluted) city canals, was partly the reason for founding a skating association there, which was allowed to use the military water that subsequently became known in popular parlance as the 'Zilveren Schaats'. The rather exclusive "Utrecht Ice Club 'The Silver Skates'" had a history running from 1879 to 1943. The still-existing water structure of the 'Zilveren Schaats' has a length of just over 400 m, with a width of approximately 30 m, not (much) less than during its creation. The 'Zilveren Schaats' nowadays (still) has a function in surface water management and furthermore appears to be a sort of 'recreational pond'. The covered way located to the east of the soil extraction site is the easily recognisable relic of a longer axis, which extended from near Fort De Bilt, via Fort Vossegat to near Lunet I. This linear structure is essentially a continuation of the previously existing Ridderschapskade. The structure has been largely lost through the reorganisation of adjacent areas to the north and south of the 'Zilveren Schaats', but has been preserved and remains very clearly recognisable in connection with this soil extraction site. The earthwork is remarkably well recognisable in the field and even forms a striking anomaly within it, a relic of the arrangement from the period before approximately 1914-1918. The distinction between the higher eastern part (the rampart/breastwork) and the covered western side can still be clearly distinguished. The covered way previously lay on this west side, at the foot of the earthwork; the present-day hard surface path on the dyke is a fairly recent provision for its access for operational traffic. The dyke and dyke foot are otherwise covered with grass, which serves, among other things, a function for grazing small livestock. To the east of the earthwork nowadays lies a verge ditch, which is presumed to have formed part of the inundation system and may be considered a relic of a small inundation canal. Certainly within the urban context of the city of Utrecht, this ensemble is of particular significance.

Description

CONSTRUCTION OF COVERED WAY WITH VERGE DITCH AND SOIL EXTRACTION SITE THE 'ZILVEREN SCHAATS', nowadays in essence still consisting of a 400 metre long dyke body, with on the one hand (west) remains of a covered way and an elongated, parallel to it water feature created by excavation of raising material and on the other side (east) a small inundation canal. There may still be (remains or traces of) earthworks, masonry works or concrete structures of specific defensive works present. The Covered Way is one of the clearly recognisable parts of the main defence line developed around 1870 and of the connecting way of the first fort ring - in this case of the section between Fort De Bilt and Fort Vossegat. The Covered Way was here and there reinforced with (earthen) gun emplacements and with the now-disappeared VIS-casemate Ridderschapskade (1934). The construction of the Covered Way with verge ditch also encompasses part of the adjacent area over which the Ministry of War had authority and which from of old was marked with boundary posts - the Military State Land and in this special case also the Military Water of the 'Zilveren Schaats'. The ensemble of the parts of the Covered Way and the soil extraction site forms a striking military artefact within the urban landscape created in phases from approximately twenty years later (c. 1890) at this location, of which - in the New Dutch Water Line - very few clear examples still exist.

Valuation

The CONSTRUCTION OF COVERED WAY WITH VERGE DITCH AND SOIL EXTRACTION SITE THE 'ZILVEREN SCHAATS', remaining part of the formerly continuous connection between Fort De Bilt and Fort Vossegat is of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the New Dutch Water Line 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 building engineering, which is based on: a. the system of inundation and access defence (nineteenth century), b. the race with increasingly powerful offensive means (nineteenth and twentieth centuries).

This concerns a component from around 1870 which is an example of historical hydraulic engineering related to military-strategic building engineering and of a remnant of a continuous fort connection established as a covered way.

* Ensemble value and situational values as part of the New Dutch Water Line. Also because of the functional and physical coherence with the other parts of the complex.

* The component has become rare because as a construction it is still an almost complete and clearly recognisable example of a covered way with inundation canal in the New Dutch Water Line and as such is representative (characteristic) of this type of defensive work.

* The component is well preserved because virtually all (types of) the (structural) elements belonging to the construction are present in more or less recognisable form and function.