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  • UNESCO

Defending Amsterdam with water

April 12, 2020 | Michael Turtle | 13 Comments

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

The Defence Line of Amsterdam

To protect themselves from attack over the years, humans have shown an impressive level of inventiveness. We’ve used mountains, moats, walls, spikes, rocks… and more.

But only the Dutch learned to control the movement of water and use that for their fortifications.

In the lead-up to the First World War, nobody knew they were in the lead-up to the First World War. That’s kind of the way these things go.

But, nonetheless, the Dutch were working hard to protect their capital Amsterdam from any possible threat within Europe.

Without the benefits of mountains to build castles on or grand rivers to provide a natural barrier, they looked to what they had – which turned out to essentially be a lot of swampland.

Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands
Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands

For centuries the Dutch had used a clever system of dykes, canals and hydraulics to clear the swampland and create space that could be used for communities and farming.

The best example of this, the Beemster Polder, is an area of more than 70 km2 that was essentially a shallow lake before being reclaimed through mechanics and ingenuity.

So when it came to fortifications, the Dutch shifted their gears into reverse and thought about how this could be used to their advantage. They realised that if they undid all their hard work and filled up these spaces with water again, they could effectively create an enormous moat around Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands

To achieve this, the Dutch built what is now called ‘The Defence Line of Amsterdam’ or ‘Stelling van Amsterdam’.

It was a rough circle stretching for 135 kilometres all around the capital city and the important settlements nearby, with a radius of about 15 kilometres.

Along the line were built 45 armed forts, which were to be the key to operating the barrier if war came too close for comfort.

In basic terms, the defence program would use hydraulics to open gates and pump water from canals into low-lying plains, covering roads and land that an enemy would have to use to get to Amsterdam.

Some of the water would be too shallow to use boats, while the deeper areas were protected by the forts, which were armed with cannons and other artillery.

Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands
Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands

Pampus Island, The Netherlands

The island of Pampus, not too far from Amsterdam in a region called Muiden, is one of these forts.

It’s an artificial island that took eight years and 45,000 cubic metres of sand to build. It sits in the middle of the water, hundreds of metres from land, like a rocky omen of war in an otherwise peaceful bay.

Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands

The huge guns that once sat on top of the fort had a range of about eight kilometres. An enormous 280kg shell could be fired every six minutes and the belief was that would be enough to stop any attackers trying to come by boat in this direction.

Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands

Today the fort island has been turned into a museum and educational centre. The structure remains the same and you can crawl through hidden tunnels or walk through the maze of rooms beneath the high domed roofs.

It’s surprisingly big once you get inside and it takes quite a long time to see everything. Some of the rooms have been left as they were but many of them have been updated with clever video displays, holograms and lighting effects.

School children sometimes stay here for several days for camps and these elements are needed for amusement.

Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands
Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands

As it turned out, the Defence Line of Amsterdam was never needed. The Netherlands managed to stay relatively neutral in World War I and were not directly attacked.

By World War II, planes had become common and a barrier of water was not enough to stop the bombardment from the Germans. Part of the flooding was activated when the Nazis invaded in May 1940 but there was no fighting and it did little to stop the advance from other directions.

Amsterdam Defence Line, Pampus Island, Netherlands

The combination of human inventiveness and the harnessing of nature does make this fortification very special. Many of the forts are still standing and open to the public, so it’s easy to get a sense of how it was designed.

But we will never know how effective it would have been because almost as soon as it was completed, it became obsolete.

THE BEST ACCOMMODATION IN AMSTERDAM

Amsterdam is not a cheap city for accommodation but I think it’s worth paying to stay in the city centre.

BACKPACKER

It’s not the cheapest but I think the Generator Hostel is the best backpacker option.

BUDGET

Not your average hotel, CityHub Amsterdam is a cool idea for an affordable ‘room’.

BOUTIQUE

For a great designed boutique hotel, I would highly recommend The Hoxton.

LUXURY

And for cool modern luxury, have a look at the awesome W Amsterdam, with a great location.

This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more info click here. You can see all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites I’ve visited here.
Netherlands Travel Guide

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE NETHERLANDS?

See my Netherlands Travel Guide

To help you plan your trip to the Netherlands:

  • What to expect in the historic centre of Amsterdam
  • The best art museums in Amsterdam
  • Explore the countryside of Van Gogh
  • The incredible factory that’s now a World Heritage Site
  • See the engineering genius of the Dutch firsthand
  • How the Dutch protected their capital by controlling water
  • For architecture fans, this house will blow your mind!
  • How a simple rabbit took over the world
  • Visit the best windmills in the Netherlands
  • How you can stay the night on a boat in Rotterdam’s port.

Let someone else do the work for you:

You may also want to consider taking a tour of the Netherlands, rather than organising everything on your own. It’s also a nice way to have company if you are travelling solo.

I am a ‘Wanderer’ with G Adventures and they have great tours of the Netherlands.

You could consider:

  • Berlin to London on a shoestring (6 days)
  • Budapest to London on a shoestring (12 days)
  • European Trail (26 days)

When I travel internationally, I always get insurance. It’s not worth the risk, in case there’s a medical emergency or another serious incident. I recommend you should use World Nomads for your trip.

Reader Interactions

    Comments Cancel reply

  1. Bama |

    October 15, 2013 at 9:36 pm

    Reply

    Thanks for the interesting history of Amsterdam, Michael. I never knew such technique was ever used until I read this post.

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 29, 2013 at 12:33 am

      Reply

      I didn’t know either until I got there and starting learning more about the city. I thought it was fascinating and had to share it here!

  2. Mary @ Green Global Travel |

    October 16, 2013 at 10:54 am

    Reply

    Fascinating! Human innovation and ingenuity never ceases to amaze, though I am grateful that at least in this case, it remained unnecessary.

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 29, 2013 at 12:34 am

      Reply

      It’s such a unique idea and really does, as you say, show the innovation of humans. Although I’m glad it wasn’t used too, a part of me would love to have seen how effective it actually would have been.

  3. Jennifer |

    October 17, 2013 at 9:09 pm

    Reply

    It is really interesting how the Dutch learned to use the water as a defensive system. Until I went to the Netherlands, I didn’t realize how much of the country is water.

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 29, 2013 at 12:42 am

      Reply

      I was shocked when I found out how much of the land they had reclaimed. I think I would have been too lazy and just dealt with all the water – good on them for making the most of it, though!

  4. Ali |

    October 19, 2013 at 1:25 am

    Reply

    Really interesting! People certainly can get creative when they need to. I never knew this about Amsterdam.

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 29, 2013 at 12:43 am

      Reply

      Necessity is the mother of all invention, or something like that. I guess this is a perfect example that proves that expression!

  5. James @ Ville Toscana |

    October 21, 2013 at 6:23 pm

    Reply

    Thanks a lot for sharing such an interesting history of Amsterdam, as I didn’t know that they are using water as a defensive system. It’s really so interesting!

    • Michael Turtle |

      October 29, 2013 at 12:49 am

      Reply

      I’m glad you enjoyed reading about it. I thought it was fascinating too. It’s not the kind of thing that’s too well-known but it could have been a huge factor in a war!

  6. Deb |

    November 13, 2013 at 3:05 am

    Reply

    Very interesting story, the Dutch are masters of water. So how many UNESCO sites is that for you? I believe you are way up there by now!

    • Michael Turtle |

      November 29, 2013 at 1:45 am

      Reply

      Not nearly as way up there as I would like to be! I think I’ve done almost 90 in the past two years. That’s not too bad but still a long way to go!

  7. Jes |

    October 29, 2014 at 4:54 pm

    Reply

    Interesting. Do one on the Swiss too! When driving on the highway, you can see grassy fields filled with tank traps.

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This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.

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