Gracht, Inundatiekanaal Utrecht

English translation

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Description

Cluster 401. Construction of an inundation canal.

NEW HOLLAND WATERLINE

Introduction

CONSTRUCTION OF AN INUNDATION CANAL AND OF A BANK AS REMNANT OF A (PARTIALLY) COVERED ROAD AND OF THE MAIN DEFENCE LINE, as components of the remains of the inundation and defence system of the combined works of the first and second fort rings located in the vicinity of Utrecht. The construction formed part of a system of works which from approximately 1870 supported a second fort ring - at greater distance from the city - and which also contributed to improved inundation possibilities and to the invisible movement and positioning of troops and materiel with respect to an enemy. The dike body was raised on the basis of excavated material. The complex component comprises concretely the construction of the canal course extending roughly between the current A 12 (south) and the Oude Liesbosweg no. 52 (north) and the dike body lying parallel to it on the west side. The total length of the construction amounts to approximately 1500 m, of which the greater part (circa 1250 m) extends in a straight line from south to north. The width of the canal is predominantly approximately 20 to 25 m; for the greater part a path lies on the east side of the canal, which is to be regarded as a (modern) continuation of an existing maintenance path. The path on the west side, which lay behind the dike / bank is still recognisable here and there; it is accessible via lockable, relatively recent gates at the foot of the slope. The inundation canal and the bank / dike previously extended - until approximately 1965 - virtually uninterruptedly from Lunet IV to the Schalkwijksche Wetering, but the construction and widening of the A 12, of the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal and also the expansions of Utrecht and Nieuwegein have led to the recognisability thereof being impaired south of the A 12. It is uncertain whether the covered road extended over the full length of the canal; maps before 1940 do not appear to confirm this, but the first post-war topographical map (1948, 1:25,000) shows a dike body on the west side of the total canal. (The map also clearly shows a bend in the canal at the level of the Ravensche Wetering, which over a short distance formed part of the inundation system. The canal remnant in question lies south of the A 12.) Of any possible earlier presence of works such as trenches or batteries (other than those mentioned earlier) nothing is known at the time of writing, but it cannot be ruled out that traces or remains thereof are present. Broad inundation canals, complete with bank, are relatively scarce and this canal therefore represents particular values.

Description

CONSTRUCTION OF AN INUNDATION CANAL AND OF A BANK AS REMNANT OF A (PARTIALLY) COVERED ROAD AND OF THE MAIN DEFENCE LINE, consisting of a total of approximately 1500 metres long remnant of an originally much longer inundation and supply canal to the south with parallel dike / bank on the west side thereof. The construction functioned as the main defence line and as a water barrier for the inundation water to be set up east thereof in case of threat of war. The width of the canal is almost everywhere 20-25 m; the bank / dike is over almost the full length slightly less wide: approximately 20 m. The canal and the dike / bank have a straight course over approximately 1250 m and a northern, slightly curved extension of 250 m. Of the road lying to the west of the bank, at the foot thereof only a limited part is recognisable, but the slope and the lower, but closely against the (crest of the) bank lying houses and gardens and grounds represent a reminder thereof. Here and there the former path is still present at the foot of the slope.

Valuation

The CONSTRUCTION OF AN INUNDATION CANAL AND OF A BANK AS REMNANT OF A (PARTIALLY) COVERED ROAD AND OF THE MAIN DEFENCE LINE is of general importance because of:

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

* 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 strengthened offensive means (19th and 20th century), c. the system of 'living' field fortification in depth (20th century).

This concerns a component which dates mainly from the beginning of the 1870s to which improvements and expansions were subsequently carried out on a limited scale. It is a fairly rare example of an inundation and supply canal arranged for defensive purposes with adjoining earthen bank.

* Ensemble values 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.

* The component is fairly rare because as a remnant of an inundation canal with a parallel earthen bank it still represents a fairly good and recognisable example of a linear work arranged for defensive purposes.

* The component is reasonably well preserved because most of the components belonging to it are present in recognisable form and the then-current purpose is also reasonably readable from the context.