Zuidoostbeemster, Markenbinnen and De Rijp

The beautiful National Landscape of Low Holland is a natural and cultural-historical tour de force. The area of 51400 hectares is bursting with reclaimed land, peat meadows and many bodies of water that attract waterfowl. A typical characteristic and traditional Dutch image that you will see a lot are the cows in the grassy meadows. The National Landscape also contains many fortresses of the Defense Line of Amsterdam, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The nearby island of Marken has retained its characteristic traditional costumes and old houses and is therefore an important cultural heritage, but there are also other protected village views in the area. Set course for the Fort on the Middenweg. This fort still looks impressive and has a beautiful retractable dome with artillery and machine gun emplacements in the front wall. In the past, these could be reached via protected, covered corridors. Much of the original installation can still be seen in the main building. This fort gives you a good impression of how the forts of the Defense Line of Amsterdam were built and furnished. The total defense line was built between 1880 and 1914 and had dozens of forts. The Fort on the Jisperweg is only two kilometers away from the previous fort and is part of the Defense Line of Amsterdam. Because the sand with which the terrain is reinforced contains a lot of lime, you will see a different type of flora here than at the other forts: the rare field hornflower, heron's bill and swan flower grow here. The fort is only open to visitors once every five years, but it is still worth a look from the outside. The next defense is the Fort near Spijkerboor, which was mobilized during the First World War. In addition, the fort also had other uses: the building once served as a prison for conscientious objectors and a number of prominent NSB members, but a number of political delinquents were also detained here. The fort is located in a nature reserve and is surrounded by a poplar forest and a deciduous forest, where various bird species breed. You will find Fort Marken-Binnen after about seven kilometers. The fort was built to defend the Markervaart and the banks of the Westwouderpolder and the Stierop. Yet it is fairly isolated, because there used to be no direct road connecting with other forts. Close to the fortress are a secondary battery and an intake culvert, which clearly show its defensive function. In 2013, the fort is used by RBOC'Fort Markenbinnen\\\'; an education and training center for firefighters and emergency services. The last fort you see is Fort aan de Nekkerweg, also known as Fort Beemster. This fort has unique water reservoirs and a water deferrization facility. It is still used for water collection. Originally there were no plans for a fort on this site; the Fort on the Nekkerweg was therefore later added to the Defense Line of Amsterdam. The fort was already in use in 1912, although the year 1913 is stated on the facade. The fortress was used as a prison between 1918 and 1921, but also at the end of the Second World War and in 1946. From 1951 to 1982 it served as a warehouse for explosives and in 2011-2012 the fort was converted into a luxury wellness center. Do you want to know more about the best kept secrets of Laag Holland? Then surf to www.laagholland.com and get inspired.