Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Maasgouw

Stevensweert is an old fortified town situated on an island between two branches of the river Maas. During the Eighty Years' War, this island was conquered by the Spaniards in 1633. They immediately built almost impregnable fortifications. Stevensweert was surrounded by a high earthen wall with seven bastions; around the wall a wide moat was dug out with five ravelins. The Spanish garrison stayed in specially built barracks. In 1702, after a two-day siege, the fortress fell to Dutch troops. Three years later, five additional bastions were constructed. In 1874 the fortifications were purchased by the municipality of Stevensweert. The land was parcelled out and the inhabitants were able to buy the available plots. In the 1980s, plans were made to reconstruct part of the fortifications. This plan was realised in 2010 and nowadays Stevensweert again partly resembles the impressive fortress it was in the past. (Due to bad rainy weather I only took one picture of the present fortifications.)