Wierickerschans

The Fort was built on the site where in 1672 Stadtholder Willem III (William of Orange, who later became King of England) had his headquarters during the war against the French.

The cities of Utrecht and Woerden were occupied, but to the West the enemy encountered the inaccessible body of water of the Old Dutch Waterline.

The river Oude Rijn, that cut the water defense system between Nieuwerbrug and Bodegraven was one of these weak points.

For that reason three small redoubts had been built hurriedly to stop the enemy in case they sailed down the river or marched along the dikes into the West of Holland where the main cities (e.g. Leiden, The Hague, Delft, Amsterdam and Gouda) were located.

Shortly after Christmas an advance party of the French army moved over the frozen water of the defense system to Zwammerdam and Bodegraven.

To the surprise and relief of the French however, it appears that the three redoubts at Nieuwerbrug had been abandoned, allowing a return to the army in Woerden without risk.

In order to prevent a repeat of this failure and to close the gap in the defense line, he commanded the construction of a strong well manned and supplied Fort in January 1673.

Fort Wierickerschans is still in good condition and is unique in the world on the grounds of its design and historically important buildings.