World Heritage Photos

Fort Pannerden, one of the most important forts of the New Dutch Water Line. The New Dutch Water Line is one of the historic Dutch Water Defence Lines and the largest National Monument of the Netherlands. Fort Pannerden was built in the 19th century, it is the easternmost fort of the New Dutch Water Line. Fort Pannerden is situated on a headland between the river Waal and the Pannerden Canal, a strategic location, the fort guarded the Pannerden Canal, which supplied the water to inundate the New Dutch Water Line. Fort Pannerden is situated close to Pannerden, a small village in the eastern part of the Netherlands, not far from the German border. The New Dutch Water Line became a World Heritage Site in 2021, this line, together with the Defence Line of Amsterdam, forms the UNESCO World Heritage: Dutch Water Defence Lines.

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    New Dutch Water Line - Fort Pannerden: Fort Pannerden is situated on a headland between the river Waal (on the right hand side) and the Pannerden Canal (on the left hand side). The roof of the fort offers breathtaking views over the Dutch river landscape. The fort is siruated close to Pannerden and Doornenburg, villages in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. The fort is surrounded by the rugged nature of the Klompenwaard, a nature reserve.

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   New Dutch Water Line - Fort Pannerden: Fort Pannerden is one of the most important forts of the New Dutch Water Line. Fort Pannerden was built on a strategic location, at the fork of the river Waal and the Pannerden Canal, the fort guarded the Pannerden Canal, which supplied the water to inundate the New Dutch Water Line. From the roof it is possible to see Arnhem and the Veluwe, the largest push moraine complex in the Netherlands.

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   New Dutch Water Line - Fort Pannerden: The dry moat around Fort Pannerden. The fort was built between 1869 and 1871, the fort was completely built of red brick and mortar, the fort was expanded significantly in the period from 1885-1895. The roof was reinforced with concreet and covered with a layer of earth. Today, the fort is overgrown with grass and wild flowers. In 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, several casemates were built around the fort.

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   New Dutch Water Line - Fort Pannerden: In World War One, the Netherlands remained neutral, Fort Pannerden was mobilized throughout the war and during the first days of World War Two it also was manned. On 11 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands, cut off from the rest of the Dutch troops, the commander of the fort surrendered under threat of air attacks and artillery shelling.

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   New Dutch Water Line - Fort Pannerden: Ford Pannerden also served as an outpost for the Grebbe Line, a defence line to protect a large part of the Netherlands and a foreward defence Line  of the Dutch Water Lines. During the Cold War (1945-1991), Fort Pannerden was part of a huge national network for protecting the Netherlands against Soviet invasion, a small building on top of the fort was used as a warning station to spot enemy aircrafts. 

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   New Dutch Water Line - Fort Pannerden: After WWII, the fort fell into dispair. During the Cold War, the fort was renovated and it became part of the New IJssel Line, a defence line to protect the western part of the Netherlands, this defence line remained top secret until 1990, people did not know why the waterworks were built, only the highest-ranking officials in the cities and villages along the IJssel were aware of the real purpose of the waterworks.

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   New Dutch Water Line - Fort Pannerden: Nowadays, Fort Pannerden is a museum, the huge five storey building was opened to the public in 2016. The permanent exhibition in Ford Pannerden tells about the role it has played in the time of the New Dutch Water Line and the history of the fort during World War I, World War II and the Cold War. There is also a series of portrait photos depicting soldiers who were stationed in the fort.