A visit to Willemstad from Roosendaal

The fortified city of WILLEMSTAD is located on the important arm of the river Hollandsch Diep, a busy shipping route from Rotterdam to Antwerp. Prince Maurits ordered the existing fortress to be expanded into its current form of a seven-pointed star to face the Spaniards if they dared to cross from Brabant to Holland.

The fortress was built in 1564 in a marine clay polder"Polder de Ruigenhil\\\". The polder landscape as you see it today still has many features of yesteryear. The dikes are still prominent. Before the reclamation, nature in the area was strongly influenced by the tides and you can still find some beautiful creek remnants.

The surroundings of Willemstad are blessed with beautiful nature reserves. Along the Oostdijk lies a vast meadow area outside the dike with a wide strip of tidal forest and reed beds on the banks of the Hollandsch Diep.

Flour mill De Oude Molen was still in operation until the early 1960s. The mill was supposed to be demolished, but was eventually saved from those plans and thoroughly restored between 2002 and 2008.

If you are interested in military history, you should take a break at Fort de Hel. The fort was built by the French in 1811 and was then called'Fort l\\\'Enfer\\\'. In 1882 it was modernized and could house 118 soldiers. In the First World War, the fort was actually manned at this full strength. In the Second World War, the South Wales Borderers Division lost some men here as they believed the fort had not been occupied by the Germans. In 1961 the fort was released from military service and opened to the public.