Fort Naarden

Naarden is a small fortified town on the edge of the Gooi, east of Amsterdam, and it is one of the best-preserved examples of a star-shaped fortress in Europe. The town was rebuilt after being destroyed by Spanish troops in 1572, and over the following centuries its defences were repeatedly modernised. By the seventeenth century it had the form it keeps today, a regular polygon with six pointed bastions, a double ring of moats and ramparts and a grid of streets inside. Seen from the air, the whole town looks like a geometric diagram, but even at ground level the shape of the fortifications is easy to read.

The design reflects the military science of the time. Star-shaped bastions let defenders cover every approach with cross-fire, and the broad moats and low earth ramparts absorbed the impact of artillery. Later, Naarden became part of the Dutch Water Line, the system of defences that relied on controlled flooding to protect the western core of the country, and the Water Defence Lines are now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The town was never again the scene of major battle after its rebuilding, but it stayed a garrison until the twentieth century.

The Nederlands Vestingmuseum, the Netherlands Fortress Museum, is housed in the casemates and bastions on the ramparts and is the best way to understand the fortifications. It explains the history of fortress building and warfare, with displays of weapons, uniforms and models, and visitors can walk through the casemates, underground passages and the listening tunnels in which soldiers would listen for the sound of enemy diggers. Museum boats take visitors along the moats for a view of the ramparts from the water, a very different perspective. The museum has activities for children and is a popular school outing.

The ramparts themselves make a pleasant circular walk, with grass banks, trees and views over the roofs and the surrounding countryside. Inside the walls, the town is quiet and carefully kept, with merchants' houses, the town hall, the Kerkplein and the Grote Kerk, famous for its painted wooden vault and for the annual performance of Bach's Matthew Passion. A museum about the town and a museum dedicated to the Czech educator Comenius, who is buried here, add more interest. Cafes and small restaurants fill the streets.

The fortress town suits history lovers, families and walkers, and a visit takes half a day. The museum has set opening days, so check before going. Naarden-Bussum has a railway station, and the town is a short ride from Amsterdam and Utrecht.