Fort Brasschaat

Fort Brasschaat lies north of the town of the same name, in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish region in Belgium.

Between 1859 and 1864, the young Belgian Kingdom equipped the city of Antwerp, chosen as a National Redoubt in case of war, with a ring of eight brick forts: Fort 1 through Fort 8. As these forts quickly became outdated, several new forts were added to the ring between 1870 and 1895, positioned farther from the city; among them were Fort Steendorp and Fort Walem.

Advances in artillery development continued to render 19th-century forts obsolete. Consequently, at the start of the 20th century, the Belgian government decided to surround Antwerp with a second ring of forts at an even greater distance from the city. Construction began, and by 1913, eleven armored forts and twelve concrete armored redoubts had been built around the city. The process of arming these new forts had just begun when Belgium was invaded by the Germans in 1914.

Fort Brasschaat was constructed between 1909 and 1912. It has a triangular shape and is surrounded by a moat. When the Germans invaded Belgium in 1914, the fort was manned by approximately 330 soldiers. The German Army besieged Antwerp from the south, capturing several forts, which led to the city's surrender. Since Fort Brasschaat is located north of Antwerp, it saw no action during the invasion. Between the World Wars, the fort was modified to accommodate machine guns and gas attacks, but it again saw no action during World War II.

In 1970, the Belgian Army attempted to demolish the fort with dynamite. Although they managed to destroy the left wing, the task proved too difficult, and the fort was abandoned.

Today, Fort Brasschaat is off-limits to the public. It serves as a habitat for bats and is still owned by the Belgian Army. Too bad; I would love to explore its interior. The fort's island is too heavily wooded to see much, but you can walk around it.

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