Fort Hemeltje, Houten, Netherlands

Fort het Hemeltje was built between 1877-1881 as part of the so-called Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie(The 'New Dutch Water Line') to defend the cities of the western Netherlands from overland attack.

Castles and fortifications in Netherlands

User Reviews

ReneeYvonne Zijlstra (20 months ago)
Was gezellig en lekker.

co van den Brink (2 years ago)
Hier heb ik in mijn diensttijd 1974 veel tijd doorgebracht als militair werkzaam in de werkplaats .Mooie tijd savonds weer slapen in de Kromhout kazerne in Utrecht.

Glenn Hubner (2 years ago)
Het is zeker mooi maar alleen jammer dat je bijna nergens in kan ...Dat vindt ik wel jammer

allard schaap (2 years ago)
Erg mooi klompenpad om het fort heen slingerend langs het water en moeras

Jan Dijkstra (3 years ago)
In alle jaargetijden is het fijn om even op het Fort bij 't Hemeltje te zijn. het Fort is genoemd naar een herberg die lang geleden al is verdwenen. Op het fort is veel te zien en te beleven, maar ook om het fort is een mooie wandeling uitgezet met prachtige doorkijkjes op de fortgracht, de ijsvogel is hier regelmatig te zien. Door de week bent u welkom op het fort, maar in het weekend is het gesloten, wat wel lammer is. Ook het lawaai van Rijksweg A27 die dicht bij is, is erg vervelend maar toch hou ik het op 5 sterren om dat het er zo mooi is, de foto' laten dat zien. Als u gaat prettige wandeling en vergeet de watjes in uw oren niet.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright adegie

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Czocha Castle

Czocha Castle is located on the Lake Leśnia, what is now the Polish part of Upper Lusatia. Czocha castle was built on gneiss rock, and its oldest part is the keep, to which housing structures were later added.

Czocha Castle began as a stronghold, on the Czech-Lusatian border. Its construction was ordered by Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, in the middle of the 13th century (1241–1247). In 1253 castle was handed over to Konrad von Wallhausen, Bishop of Meissen. In 1319 the complex became part of the dukedom of Henry I of Jawor, and after his death, it was taken over by another Silesian prince, Bolko II the Small, and his wife Agnieszka. Origin of the stone castle dates back to 1329.

In the mid-14th century, Czocha Castle was annexed by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. Then, between 1389 and 1453, it belonged to the noble families of von Dohn and von Kluks. Reinforced, the complex was besieged by the Hussites in the early 15th century, who captured it in 1427, and remained in the castle for unknown time (see Hussite Wars). In 1453, the castle was purchased by the family of von Nostitz, who owned it for 250 years, making several changes through remodelling projects in 1525 and 1611. Czocha's walls were strengthened and reinforced, which thwarted a Swedish siege of the complex during the Thirty Years War. In 1703, the castle was purchased by Jan Hartwig von Uechtritz, influential courtier of Augustus II the Strong. On August 17, 1793, the whole complex burned in a fire.

In 1909, Czocha was bought by a cigar manufacturer from Dresden, Ernst Gutschow, who ordered major remodelling, carried out by Berlin architect Bodo Ebhardt, based on a 1703 painting of the castle. Gutschow, who was close to the Russian Imperial Court and hosted several White emigres in Czocha, lived in the castle until March 1945. Upon leaving, he packed up the most valuable possessions and moved them out.

After World War II, the castle was ransacked several times, both by soldiers of the Red Army, and Polish thieves, who came to the so-called Recovered Territories from central and eastern part of the country. Pieces of furniture and other goods were stolen, and in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the castle was home to refugees from Greece. In 1952, Czocha was taken over by the Polish Army. Used as a military vacation resort, it was erased from official maps. The castle has been open to the public since September 1996 as a hotel and conference centre. The complex was featured in several movies and television series. Recently, the castle has been used as the setting of the College of Wizardry, a live action role-playing game (LARP) that takes place in their own universe and can be compared to Harry Potter.

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Fort Hemeltje

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