Fort Bourtange

Bourtange is a small fortress village in the far east of the province of Groningen, almost on the German border, and it is one of the most completely preserved star-shaped forts in Europe. It was built in the last years of the sixteenth century, during the Eighty Years' War against Spain, to control the one passable route through the great bog that lay between Germany and the city of Groningen. In a landscape of peat and marsh, a road across firm ground was of great military value, and whoever held the fort held the way through.

The design follows the star-fort pattern developed in the sixteenth century to resist cannon. Instead of high, straight medieval walls, the fort has low earth ramparts faced in turf, with pointed bastions projecting at the corners so that defenders can fire along the face of every wall. Moats ring the defences, and the water was fed from the surrounding marshland. A visitor today sees the ramparts, the moat and the red wooden drawbridges, and from the top of the walls, the whole layout becomes easy to read. The fort was never taken by assault, and a siege in 1672 by the prince-bishop of Munster, Bernhard von Galen, nicknamed Bommen Berend, or Bomb Bernard, failed to capture it.

After its military use ended in the nineteenth century, the fort slowly declined into an ordinary village, with houses built within the walls. In the 1960s and after, it was carefully restored to its appearance of about 1740, and the village now works as a living museum. People still live in the historic houses, and the streets, the church, the old school, the windmill, the synagogue and the officers' houses form a compact, orderly settlement laid out on a grid around a central square with trees. Several museums and small shops occupy the buildings, including a military museum, and craftspeople sell traditional products. Cafes and restaurants serve the visitors.

The fort is open to wander freely, while the museums keep set opening hours. Events fill the calendar, from markets to historical re-enactments of the siege, with soldiers in period uniform firing muskets, and a visit on one of those days is especially lively. Walking routes lead around the ramparts and out into the surrounding landscape of the Westerwolde, where moors, woods and the remains of the bog still survive.

The village suits history lovers, families, photographers and cyclists. A visit takes two or three hours. Check the programme of events and the museum opening times before going, and wear comfortable shoes for the ramparts.