Fort van der Capellen, Dutch colonial fort in Batusangkar, Indonesia

Fort van der Capellen is a small Dutch fort on the highest ground of Batusangkar, about 500 metres from the town centre. Its wall is 75 centimetres thick and 4 metres high, and a dry moat once circled the building. The clay tile roof was replaced with corrugated steel in 1974.

Dutch Colonel Raff entered Tanah Datar in 1821 after Adat chiefs asked the Dutch, then based in Padang, for help against the Padri movement. The Dutch built the fort on the highest ground in Batusangkar, about 500 metres from the town centre, and finished it in 1824. It was named after Governor-General Godert van der Capellen. Dutch control lasted until Japan took West Sumatra in the Second World War.

The fort gave its name to the town: Batusangkar was long known as Fort van der Capellen, after Governor-General Godert van der Capellen. Its 75-cm walls and 4-m height are the work of Dutch military engineers, and the moat that once ringed the building was filled in 1986. The site is a protected cultural property (benda cagar budaya) of Tanah Datar Regency.

The fort stands on the highest ground in Batusangkar, about 500 metres from the town centre, so the approach is uphill. The moat on either side of the building was filled and levelled in 1986, and the site has been empty since the Tanah Datar police headquarters moved to Pagaruyung in 2001. Parts were restored from 2008 by the heritage preservation body.

The fort housed PTPG Batusangkar, the teacher-training college that became State University of Padang, from 1955 until its move to Bukit Gombak; Mohammad Yamin inaugurated the use. The building later served as a military headquarters and, from 1960 to 2001, as the Tanah Datar police resort command.