Nederland - Doornenburg, Fort Pannerden

Fort Pannerden - located on a tongue of land at the junction of the river Waal and the Pannerdensch Kanaal (PiP3) - was constructed between 1869 and 1871 as part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie (New Dutch Waterline). Originally the fort was built completely out of brick and mortar, with just one main battery guarding the rivers. It was upgraded significantly during 1885-1895.

Fort Pannerden is the most easterly of the 50 sturdy forts of the New Dutch Waterline, a series of water-based defences. Soldiers were able to see from afar whether enemies were approaching on the river Rijn. They had to secure the flow of Rijn-water towards the waterline. Fort Pannerden is therefore also known as “the tap on the New Dutch Waterline”. Since July 2021 the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The fort had strategic significance because it guarded the Pannerdensch Kanaal/Rijn, which supplies the water for the inundations of the New Dutch Waterline and could potentially be used as a route towards the main line of defence. In World War I the Netherlands remained neutral, although the fort was manned as part of a general mobilisation. During the German invasion of the Netherlands in of World War II (May 1940), the fort was first bypassed. One day later it was surrounded and cut off from the rest of the Dutch army, the commander of the fort surrendered under threat of artillery bombardment and air attack.

After the war the fort became a quarry for building materials and a dump for ammunition. The fort itself was already decommissioned in 1959 and abandoned. Fort Pannerden then stood empty until 2000 when it was taken over by squatters. Years of court cases and evictions followed, finally resulting in an agreement; the squatters were appointed as temporary caretakers of the fort, but they could not live there anymore. In 2008 the former squatters left the fort voluntarily and a restoration of Fort Pannerdan started, which ended in 2011 with the fort being opened to the public.

Nowadays Fort Pannerden - also housing a museum (PiP4) - can be visited for a fee. The fort is located nearby the medieval Kasteel Doornenburg.