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Discovering the Willemstad defences
Willemstad is one of the eleven fortified towns along the Zuiderwaterlinie. Follow the junctions on an 8.0 kilometre walk and experience the special historical atmosphere of this town.
Willemstad has the shape of a seven-pointed star and is surrounded by five fortresses, of which Fortress Sabina is the most impressive. Through the centuries, the strategically located Defence Line of Willemstad was an excellent place to control shipping between Holland, Zeeland and Antwerp. The bastions and ramparts are still largely intact. You will be walking along the Volkerak and the beautiful Zwanenmeer (swan lake), after which you will enter the fortress via the Noordlangeweg road on the other side of Willemstad.
The town is one big monument.…
Discovering the Willemstad defences
Willemstad is one of the eleven fortified towns along the Zuiderwaterlinie. Follow the junctions on an 8.0 kilometre walk and experience the special historical atmosphere of this town.
Willemstad has the shape of a seven-pointed star and is surrounded by five fortresses, of which Fortress Sabina is the most impressive. Through the centuries, the strategically located Defence Line of Willemstad was an excellent place to control shipping between Holland, Zeeland and Antwerp. The bastions and ramparts are still largely intact. You will be walking along the Volkerak and the beautiful Zwanenmeer (swan lake), after which you will enter the fortress via the Noordlangeweg road on the other side of Willemstad.
The town is one big monument. For example, there is the monumental Mauritshuis mansion, the former country residence of Prince Maurits of Orange from 1623. The walk takes you past the churches Heilige Maagd Maria kerk and Koepelkerk. Relax in one of the charming cafés and restaurants on the lively marina. Finally you will stroll outside the walls over the canal, which will give you a different view of the ramparts. Relax in one of the charming cafés and restaurants on the lively marina.
Walk along the Zuiderwaterlinie in Brabant
Discover the Zuiderwaterlinie (southern water line), the oldest, longest and most used waterline in the Netherlands. A unique chain of 11 fortified towns, forts and ramparts in Brabant, connected by the typical Dutch tradition of using water for defence.
Inheritance of an eventful past
For centuries the Zuiderwaterlinie served to protect the country against attacks. The waterline runs all the way from Bergen op Zoom in the south-west to Grave in the north-east of Brabant. Everywhere along the line you’ll find traces of an eventful past. Beautiful city monuments that are reminders of the time when soldiers still stood in front of the gates. Many of these monuments can be visited. Beyond the fortified towns you will find sturdy forts, ramparts, lunettes and redoubts. Provision rooms have made way for lively cafés and restaurants.
Zuiderwaterlinie footpath
The Zuiderwaterlinie footpath is a 290-kilometre walk and is marked out via the Brabant junction system, allowing you to walk from one junction to the next.
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