FORTIFIED TOWN OF COEVORDEN

Coevorden was strategically located on a sand ridge in the vast Bourtanger swamp. Those who wanted to travel from the south to the north of the Netherlands could only pass the swamp in a few places. The main entrance gate was Coevorden.De name 'Koevoorde' refers to a ford for cows. The armies also had to pass through here in order to conquer the important city of Groningen. This made Coevorden of great strategic importance: whoever owned this fortress controlled the entire north.
During the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) there was fierce fighting for Coevorden and around 1600 the city was converted into a fortress and garrison town. A star-shaped wall with seven bastions and inner moats was built, which in turn was surrounded by a fourteen-pointed star of outer moats. Thanks to these two canal systems, Coevorden Fortress was considered one of the strongest fortified cities in Western Europe at the time.

In the image: Map of the fortified town of Coevorden

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