VESTING BOURTANGE

Around the 16th century, the area around Bourtange consisted of a large swamp. In the swamp area, there was a sand ridge (tange), which the local population used as a path. On this tange, in 1580, at the border with Germany, commissioned by Prince William of Orange, the construction of a fortress began, marking the beginning of Fortress Bourtange.
The order for the construction of the fortress is closely related to the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). The Spaniards took advantage of the tange to supply the city of Groningen, which they had already conquered. The construction of a fortress blocked the access road (and supply) of the Spaniards.
In the middle of the 19th century, the fortress was dismantled and Bourtange changed from a fortress to an agricultural village. Ultimately, very little was left of the once so important Fortress Bourtange. In the 1960s, the municipality decided to rebuild the fortress as it was in 1742. Now, many years later, one finds Fortress Bourtange as it appeared in its glory in 1742.

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