Since August 2021, the Biesbosch Line may call itself the home of world heritage. The Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie was nominated for Unesco World Heritage status. The status has been granted and from now on we join such luminaries as the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids at Giza and the Tower of Pisa.
World Heritage is heritage that is of unique and universal value to humanity. There is tangible and intangible world heritage. Intangible heritage includes the tango, for example, or closer to home: the miller's craft. Material heritage is divided into cultural (man-made) and natural. Natural heritage is, for example, the Yellowstone National Park in America. The Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie falls under cultural heritage.
What all these things have in common is that we regard them as irreplaceable, unique and owned by the whole world. And therefore we consider it of great importance to preserve them.
The New Dutch Waterline is a unique defense system. It is a strip of land, from Muiden to the Biesbosch, that can be flooded. In earlier times, this layer of water protected the wealthy province of Holland from invaders; it was too deep to wade through, but not deep enough to navigate. On the weak spots in the line came forts and fortresses.
The Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie can still be used, although it is no longer an effective defensive structure. But the vast majority of the forts and locks are still intact, and many of them can be visited. You can even stay overnight in a single fort these days.
At the end of December 2019, the National Heritage Agency delivered a report of more than 2,500 pages to Unesco in Paris. And after more than 10 years of work, that's it!
It's a hefty report, and for a reason; the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie runs through four provinces, and the land is owned by dozens of landowners. Now that the line has been declared a world heritage site, the Netherlands must be able to preserve that heritage. The approach to this and the agreements about it, are laid down in this report.
In the Biesbosch Line you will find 4 forts, 2 locks, several casemates and one fortified town of the New Dutch Waterline. And can't get enough of all this beauty? The Waterlinie path takes you along the entire line. Also be sure to visit the Waterlinie Museum. The Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie is definitely worth a visit.
On the edge of National Park De Biesbosch lies the southernmost fort of the New Dutch Waterline. Here, at Fort Bakkerskil you will be immersed in the days of yore with the luxuries of today.
Host and hostess Marco and Hanny run this special B&B with passion and respect for its so special heritage. "In the B&B you can always go. Because we want as many people as possible to enjoy this beautiful location, we are open every weekend and in the summer months daily for a drink and something tasty or a delicious lunch."
The partially covered terrace on the fortified town grounds is the perfect place to take a break. If you want to explore the surroundings, you can rent an electric bicycle here. Using a free cycling map, you can map out an interesting route through the Biesbosch Line.
Sleeping in the fortified town is a real experience. For example, you spend the night in the former powder room, the officer's quarters or the infirmary. Anyone who has been here once will keep coming back!
Fort Bakkerskil
Kildijk 143, Nieuwendijk
Fortbakkerskil.nl
Join Bart Pörtzgen, forester with Brabants Landschap. He tells you in this blog why the nature of Altena is the most beautiful in the Netherlands. Does this blog taste like more? Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter for beautiful nature photos, and read along with the adventures of the forester of Altena.
So, that's out. I know, of course, that many people are now beginning to sputter and disagree. I would like to invite those people to come with me sometime, into the nature of Altena. For I am convinced that you can learn to see this.
I take you for a walk from the new parking lot at the Pompveld, on the Lage Oldersdijk. We look directly over a wet piece of nature, with unusual structure. Every seven meters there is a ditch, just as they were before the land consolidation, in the late 1960s. They weren't crazy in the old days! In the lowest part of our island, good water management is needed.
The ditches are home to a mysterious animal. A slimy creature that can survive in an environment devoid of oxygen. Ugly actually, but beautiful because it is so special: The Great Mud Creeper. Never heard of it? Wereal then? That's what it's popularly called. Farmers used to catch this fish as a weather eel. In the wake-up jar in the window frame, it indicated the weather forecast. He creature is now European protected because of its limited occurrence.
We walk under some monumental poplars, which bring us to my secret spot, which I could no longer keep to myself. An old duck decoy. Now a colony of Blue Herons breeds there, but thousands of ducks used to be caught here every year.
Because of drainage in the surrounding area, Pompveld is higher and we have to pump water to keep this wetland wetland wet. The water is filtered through a beautiful natural system of reeds, where Bittern and Reed Warbler can be heard. We see one of the 11 weirs that regulate the various levels. Fully automated and controllable, by this forester, from a computer screen. Next to the steel weir, you see a basin. This is a fish passage, providing effortless dispersal of the Mud Creeper.
Walking further, you immediately see the effect of the weir: the entire land is under water! Through a combination of excavation and raising the water level, this area is under water for large parts of the year. Common plant species such as grasses cannot tolerate this. This gives room for unusual plants such as the Rattler, orchids and Swampartleaf. In summer, you can enjoy a wide range of colors from all the beautiful flowers here.
Through the open landscape, with a breeze in our faces, we continue walking toward a chopped willow: a field of willows. Every three years the willows are cut down, the wood used in water construction as in the past. What remains are the beautiful trunks, overgrown with oak fern and all sorts of mosses. The many holes and crevices provide space for birds to nest, such as the Tawny Owl who can fly right into your face if you look curiously into a hole.
In the ditch along the hiking trail grows the Aloe Vera of the wetlands: Crabberry. An unusual aquatic plant that tells you the water is of good quality. Through specialized ditch management, we ensure the preservation of this floating cactus.
We continue walking along the new trail, back to the parking lot. At the alder grove we come across, we have to look up, as a pair of buzzards has been breeding here for years!
On the walking path next to the newly planted grove, I already saw a few deer regularly, see the tracks in the ditch side?
Resting on the bench is kind of nice after this hike. Just thinking about what we have seen. What we didn't see, but what does occur in this beautiful nature. How special nature is.
Beautiful is nature in Altena isn't it!
