Fort Bourtange Fortifications Netherlands

Fort Bourtange (Dutch: Vesting Bourtange) is a star fort in the village of Bourtange, Groningen, Netherlands. It was built in 1593 under the orders of William the Silent. Its original purpose was to control the only road between Germany and the city of Groningen, which was controlled by the Spaniards during the time of the Eighty Years' War (1568 - 1648) The fort sa its final action in 1672 against invading forces of the Prince-Bishop of Münster, France's German ally in the Franco-Dutch war. The Fort continued to serve in the defensive network on the German border until it was finally given up in 1851 and converted into a village. Fort Bourtange currently serves as a historical museum. The LiDAR view presented here shows the fortifications only and not the interior arrangement of buildings which can be viewed in 3D on Google Earth. While the impressive defences around the fort are well known the set of bastions out to the east, normally hidden in woodland, are less well known and rarely mentioned.