Vestingstad Coevorden

Coevorden is the oldest city in all of Drenthe and in the seventeenth century this city was the strongest fortified city in Europe. In the Middle Ages Coevorden was just a small settlement on a sand ridge between the peat bogs. This settlement grew into a prosperous trading city due to its strategic location on the road that ran from Groningen to M? Nster. Around the year 1600, the city was transformed into a fortified city to protect the city from the battles that took place during the Eighty Years' War. A star-shaped wall was built around the city with seven bastions and an inner moat was constructed. In this way Coevorden became an extremely well-protected city. In the 19th century Coevorden became less and less important and as a result the importance of the fortifications decreased. Ultimately, a large part of the ramparts and the moat were demolished. In the Arsenaal van Coevorden you will find the municipal museum where you can see how impressive the fortified city used to look with its double star-shaped city wall.