Fort Ertbrand

Fort Ertbrand lies southeast of the village of Putte, 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 As these forts quickly became outdated, several new forts were added to the ring between 1870 and 1895, positioned farther from the city; among them were Fort Steendorp and Fort Walem.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 Ertbrand was built between 1908 and 1912. It is trapezoid-shaped and surrounded by a moat. When the Germans invaded Belgium in 1914, the fort was manned by around 500 soldiers. The German Army besieged Antwerp from the south and captured several forts there before the city surrendered. Since Fort Ertbrand is located to the north of Antwerp, it did not see any action. Between the two World Wars, the fort was modernized and adapted to gas attacks. However, it also did not see action in World War II, as it was evacuated shortly after the Germans invaded.

After World War II, the fort was used by the Belgian Army's Bomb Disposal Unit to destroy explosives, mines, and ammunition. At some point, it was sold to a private individual. It remained privately owned until the end of 2016. Currently, it is under the care of Natuurpunt, a nature conservation organization.

Today, Ertbrand Fort is part of a nature reserve. The reserve is freely accessible, and visitors can walk around the fort island. The fort can be visited only by appointment with a guide during spring and summer, as it also serves as a bat habitat. I hope to have the opportunity to visit it soon.

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