Bourtange

The Bourtange fortress has a curious star structure. You can really see it from the air. You get a bit of an idea through a walk on top of the ramparts. Bourtange is relatively young. For its origin, we have to go back to the Eighty Years' War. In March 1580, the city of Groningen came into the hands of the Spaniards. The same year, William of Orange ordered the construction of a redoubt with five bastions on the sand ridge in the marshland on the border with Germany. The Spaniards used this route, among other things, to supply the city. William of Orange hoped to block this important route by building the redoubt, so that Groningen would become isolated. Bourtange was constantly fortified over the centuries, until the fortress gradually lost its function with the rise of modern warfare. The garrison was reduced and more and more civilians settled within the ramparts. In 1851, the once important fortress was officially dissolved. Bourtange grew into a thriving agricultural village where craftsmen, traders and farmers found a place. In the fifties and sixties, growth stagnated. More and more shops closed their doors, important farmers left for other villages and the police also left. More than a century after the dissolution of the fortress, it was decided to reconstruct the fortress. That way the village would revive. The plans were based on the situation of 1742 when the fortress had reached its greatest size. In addition to being a tourist attraction and cultural heritage, the fortress would also remain a normal village. Even today, about 50 people still live within the ramparts. After many years of work, the Bourtange fortress is almost as close as it was in 1742.

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