History of Groenlo. Around 610 Groenlo’s first buildings were built. More than 600 year later, in 1277, Groenlo received his city rights. In 1334 it finally got walls to defense itself. However, no major battles were fought there during medieval times. … Read More

A great view. When you’re in the neighbourhood you should visit the Kościuszko Mound that is on a hill near Krakow. It first was a settlement, but soon it was transformed into a part of the city defence. However, these … Read More

Naarden Vesting. In 2013 we visited this city during the internationally known Naarden Photo Festival. We fell in love with the old fortress city. When we got engaged I knew where our wedding should take place: Naarden Vestiging. During our … Read More

s’-Hertogenbosch. s’-Hertogenbosch got city rights in 1184 and subsequently built her first walls. A few centuries later the city lowered these walls. It was not because they wanted a better view from their bedroom windows, but because it made them … Read More

Lucca’s defensive walls. One of Italy’s most beautiful and historical important cities is Lucca. This city, which is situated in Tuscany, has many historical buildings to visit, but it’s main highlights are the 4 km long city walls. Only a … Read More

Fort IJmuiden. In the harbor of IJmuiden there is an old fort. These days it’s on an island but in the past this fort was situated on a peninsula. It was constructed to protect the harbor of Amsterdam and therefore it had huge … Read More

Fortress Muiden. In the Middle Ages Floris V built a castle near Muiden to cover the strategic route to Amsterdam. In the centuries that followed the Dutch fortified this city for the same reason. There are a few forts in … Read More

Bourtagne. During the civil uprising against Spain this fortress was built. After the war it remained a border fortress. The purpose of a string fortresses near the border was to keep off any enemy and provide essential time to prepare … Read More