Prisca Visser is a photographer with a love of the outdoors and nature. For the Biesboschlinie she regularly goes out to capture stories. This time she gets to tour Fort Giessen. She discovers all the fort's hidden stories and visits the education park outside on the grounds.
Ever since I was young, I have been fascinated by archaeological excavations. How special it is to find objects from the past in the ground! I loved going to museums where items that people had found were displayed in illuminated display cases. Coins with the heads of rulers struck on them, jars and shards of utensils. I loved it all. As I grew older, more interests were added. Thus I gained extensive plant knowledge and my love for nature was born. The smallest plant can have the most powerful effect on body and mind. Wild picking is something I still enjoy doing on hikes.
For this reportage, I was able to combine both interests, as I visited the Fort near Giessen! Just outside the village of Giessen you can visit this 'nature fort' of the Brabants Landschap. The fort belongs to the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie and since 2021 it is Unesco World Heritage Site. The building houses two associations, Altenatuur and Archeo-Altena, among others. The names say it all, Altenatuur is the nature conservation association of Altena. At Archeo-Altena the focus is archaeology. Volunteers from both associations have joined forces. They manage the fort and provide varied activities around the Fort near Giessen. I had the honor of joining a guided tour. As I cycle up the tree-shaded lane I am greeted by a flock of chickens. Their feathers gleam softly in the filtered sunlight. It has been raining and a few cheeky hens are using the resulting puddles as watering holes. Within minutes, the fort's guides arrive and the gate is opened for me. Under a thick layer of soil, the fort looms. Through a thick door we enter the fort. Inside, this makes it a lot cooler than outside! Slowly the participants of the tour trickle in.
The afternoon begins with the screening of a film. When the murmurs of the group in the vaulted hall have died down, a large screen starts the introduction to the fort. At length, the history of the region is discussed. Between 1914 and 1918, men were stationed throughout Altena. Many of them lived in the homes of local residents for years. Fort Giessen was also filled with soldiers from all walks of life at that time. After the film, the group is divided into squads and we go to see with our own eyes what can still be seen from that time. A powder room with thick walls where gunpowder was weighed and divided into bags. The number of grams determined the firing distance of the cannon. Around the powder room runs a narrow corridor. Someone walked through here to light the lights. Centimeters thick glass protected the gunpowder from leaping sparks from the lamps. We see the officers' meeting rooms and the room where there was a pharmacy and infirmary. Sick soldiers had to be quarantined and for this purpose had their own latrines that were segregated from other soldiers. There was hardly any privacy, the toilets being nothing more than a wooden bowl with a round lid. Bulkheads kept the worst sight of your neighbor away, but if you were on the thin side, that didn't stay a secret for long. Guide Hans from Archeo-Altena stops at a display case that covers an entire wall. On the glass shelves we see excavations from the region. Many flints are on display, as well as children's toys and cremation remains. Shards and pottery jars are also on display.
After the tour of the fort, it is the outside area's turn. A depot has been built on the earthen wall next to the fort; in front of it is a large cannon. This artillery gun dates back to 1894, so it is over a hundred years old. Just when I think we have seen everything, we walk with the group toward the bush border. A hidden staircase down takes us to the water's edge. With a veritable draw ferry, the team goes across in small sections. A little wobbly, I step "on board. It is important to distribute the people well over the raft, otherwise you won't move forward. With two men on the ropes you pull yourself across.
Laughter sounds up as we all make it across dry. Here you'll find the Fort Giessen education park. My guide goes into detail about what there is to see. A group shelter has been recreated and a listening pit has been dug in on a hill. A soldier kept watch to see if he heard enemy aircraft approaching. If so, he would signal and duck into the cramped pit himself to take shelter. You didn't have to be claustrophobic as a soldier!
Walking through the green grass, we are also given many explanations of what can be found here. A leaf of a small, insignificant plant is picked and passed around. Dogweed, it blooms with tiny blue flowers. The plant has medicinal properties and is useful for respiratory complaints. Guide Jaap from Altenatuur has a wealth of information behind him. Close to a flowering plant, he carefully observes which butterflies are active. The atalanta is spotted and some cabbage whites swirl around. A few people in the group pick a handful of the first, purple blackberries. Delicious!
There are also fun things for children to do. For example, there are days when they can scrape a cowhide with flints, just like it was done in the old days. At a willow hut you can learn how to make a fire by striking sparks with flints. And perhaps the most fun, using real detectors to look for ancient coins!
Would you like to visit Fort Giessen? Then check below when the open days are. Of course you can also book a guided tour with a group by appointment. Outside opening hours, the education park can be reached via the walking path around the fort.
- Open days Fort Giessen
- Gnome trail Almbos. In the Almbos opposite Fort Giessen, a gnome trail was recently created. A nice outing to combine with children.
- Bicycle route Tasty region. Combine an outing to the fort with this bicycle route. A 32 kilometer route right through the polders and over the dikes, taking you past local estate stores and stalls.
- Walking route around Giessen. Or take a walk around Giessen. A 6.5 km route that takes you past the Wilhelmina Lock, over the dike and past the Almbos.
Text and photos: www.priscavisser.nl. Here you will find all of Prisca's blogs.