August 26  – 28 Fort Vuren

From our cottage on the Maasdijk we followed the Maas, taking a ferry across and proceeding west along the north-side Maasdijk and then turned north to the fortified city of Zaltbommel on the great Waal River (there re a lot of fortified cities along the Waal – we call them “star towns” due to shape of the moats).  As we followed the Waaldijk west we saw that the Maas and other tributaries were enriching the Waal with water and there was massive dredging going on so commercial traffic slowly began appearing on the Waal.
 
We took the large and very active ferry from Brakel and from there followed the north-side Waaldijk to Fort Vuren. 
The Maas joins the Waal just west of Fort Vuren, and river traffic was heavier than ever.

Fort Buren and the Dutch Waterline

If you’ve cycled or explored the Netherlands you have probably encountered one of the many forts along the waterways, and puzzled over what the forts could be defending.  Here’s the story.  The waterline was defensive strategy to prevent the enemy (first the French) from advancing west, in the case of Fort Vuren on the Waal.  The Waterline was a huge and fascinating defensive strategy that stretched all the way from the Waal along the western edge of the Dutch lowlands, past Utrecht and on to Amsterdam and later even farther north to the former Zuiderzee. This strategy (through an amazing plan and act of collaboration involving the entire nation) transformed water from an obstacle to be overcome to a defensive ally. The water had t be deep enough to stop land travel but too shallow to allow water travel. The Old Dutch Waterline began in the 1600s and successfully halted the advance of the French invasion in 1678. The massive defensive New Dutch Waterline system evolved between 1815 and 1885.  When the enemies from the east and south threatened to advance across the lowlands to conquer the cities the Dutch, acting as a united front, would redirect the water to flood the lowlands. The timing of the opening and closing of lock was a well-quarded secret. Within a week the fields and roads would become a half-meter-deep lake presenting an impassible obstacle that prevented the enemy from advancing to the major cities. Their only path of attack was the rivers and these were blocked by a series of forts like the Vuren.  This strategy, which included dozens of forts and hundreds  allowed the Dutch to survive and thrive for over a century without being overrun – until aircraft rendered the line of defense obsolete in WW II.   Fort Vuren was an important part of this system, built in 1838 as a major defender of the Dutch Waterline preventing enemies from moving west on the Waal.

What a place! In another act of foresight and national collaboration, after the big wars the Dutch decided not to demolish the useless waterline and forts but to protect it as a national historic and recreational asset. Most of the forts offer some kind of recreational and historic value. Fort Vuren is one of two forts (out of the 60 preserved defensive works) that, in the last 20 years, have been converted into overnight accommodations to give people a glimpse of what life in these forts was like in times of war. The part we stay in is the reconstruction of the part called the counterscarp gallery that was constructed in 1879. At one time Fort Vuren housed nearly 500 soldiers in what is now the basement of the central tower. It was really tight quarters with not much light… you can still see the room where the troops washed their own fatigues. Our accommodation was the remodeled former officers’ quarters with a lower level that accommodated the administrative office of the all-important Managemeester (Mess Master) who kept the troops fed. 

We had a delightful time staying at the Fort, enjoying walking and riding on the dijk, exploring the barracks basement of the tower,  the tunnels to the canon ridge (now used for glamping tents), dining, drinking and talking to the wait staff in the courtyard restaurant, riding to the nearby town of Vuren for groceries, and eating our own meals on the terrace (formerly known as the escarpment galley).  It was a great adventure and opportunity to experience a little of the historic region.   

++ here is what Gemini says about application to today:

You hit on a profound truth. If Hugo Grotius walked into a modern courtroom or political summit today, he would recognize the exact legal battles being fought over Ukraine—because he literally wrote the rulebook the world is trying to use.

If Grotius were here to look at the situation in Ukraine, here is what his 17th-century legal philosophy would say:

1. On Unjust War and Aggression (De Jure Belli ac Pacis)

Grotius argued that war is only legally and morally justifiable under very narrow conditions—primarily self-defense against an active armed attack. He firmly rejected the idea that a nation can launch a war just for territorial expansion, historical claims, or “pre-emptive” dominance.

• The Modern Application: Grotius would view the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a textbook violation of the international legal order. He argued that an illegal war of aggression makes the aggressor state responsible for all ensuing damages and destruction—which is the exact legal basis behind modern international demands for reparations.

2. On the Treatment of Civilians and Infrastructure

Grotius was deeply disturbed by the civilian atrocities of the Thirty Years’ War. He laid down the foundational rule that military force must be strictly proportional, and that non-combatants, civilian homes, hospitals, and basic survival infrastructure must be spared.

• The Modern Application: The targeting of Ukrainian civilian populations, power grids, and residential areas would draw immediate condemnation under Grotius’s framework of jus in bello (the laws of war). To him, violating these rules isn’t just a political disagreement; it is a fundamental crime against the community of nations.

3. On Sovereignty and Small Nations

Because Grotius was a Dutchman who spent his life watching a small, fiercely independent republic fight for its right to exist against a massive, overbearing global empire (Spain), he was a fierce defender of the sovereignty of smaller nations. He believed that might does not make right—that treaties, borders, and international law protect smaller states from being swallowed by larger empires.

• The Modern Application: He would see Ukraine’s fight for sovereignty as the ultimate test of whether the global community respects the rule of law over brute imperial force.

In many ways, the entire architecture of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the Geneva Conventions are the physical realization of Grotius’s dream: an international society governed by laws and reason rather than endless violence.

Standing at Slot Loevestein yesterday, you were literally breathing the air of the man who first dared to imagine that nations could be bound by rules, even in the middle of war.