Fort Altena, Military fortress in Werkendam, Netherlands.
Fort Altena is a military fortress in Werkendam that spans about 8 hectares and combines defensive structures with nature areas. The site sits at the boundary of Heusden and De Biesbosch National Park, with a layout of canals, earthen fortifications, and buildings arranged across the landscape.
The fort was built in the 19th century as part of the New Dutch Waterline defense system designed to control strategic points along the rivers. This approach used water itself as a defensive tool, and the structures remain a key landmark in the region's landscape today.
The fort stands today as a protected monument showing how the Netherlands used water and structures to defend itself. Visitors can see how the site blends built structures with the surrounding landscape, revealing how people shaped the land for practical defense needs.
The site is accessible year-round, with guided tours available several times each month to explain the fort's layout and how it functioned. An on-site restaurant offers food and drinks, and cyclists can use routes connecting the fort to other historical fortifications in the region between Woudrichem and Gorinchem.
The fort combines defense engineering with water management in an unusual way, as its canals and ditches served not only for defense but also to help control flooding in the surrounding wetland areas. This makes it a rare example of a military installation that simultaneously shaped the landscape around it.
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