Willemstad inundation route

Few fortified towns have been preserved as beautifully as Willemstad. For example, the ramparts from 1583 are still almost completely intact. But did you also know that a fortress in the water-rich Netherlands was not only defended by ramparts? 

This walking route takes you along the locks and passages that made Willemstad an almost unconquerable fortress.

The walk starts in the Mauritshuis visitor center. In this museum you will find an exhibition with animation that shows how an inundation worked. From the Mauritshuis you walk in the direction of the Westbeer. This is visible from bastion Holland. 

The Spuisluis is located at the picturesque harbor of the city center and a little further on, just past the mill, the Stadsluis. From here the water was transported through the city to the lock in bastion Overijssel. From that lock, the water flowed into the outer moat, after which the polder around the fortress could be flooded via the Vierheulen. 

After a visit to this inundation lock, you return via the old ramparts to the visitor center Het Mauritshuis, where you will find more information about the entire Defense Line of Willemstad.

Prefer a paper version of this route?

The route is also available on paper in the Het Mauritshuis visitor center , the tourist information points of VVV Moerdijk and at various other tourist locations in the municipality of Moerdijk.