Fort Henricus

Fort Henricus lies north of the town of Steenbergen, in the province of North Brabant in the Netherlands.

Fort Henricus was built in 1626, during the Eighty Years' War, to protect the harbor of the town of Steenbergen and a sluice which was used to flood the countryside in case of attack. It was built on the site of a predecessor, dating back to 1583, which had been built by the Spanish.

The fort was built as a starfort with 5 bastions, after a design by the military engineer David van Orliens, on the order of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. It was part of the West Brabant Waterline. Its earthen ramparts would have been mounted by cannon and it housed a garrison who lived here with their families; all in all some 450 people. There was even a small church for marriages and baptisms.

In 1809 the fort was put on standby for the last time, due to the fear of a possible British invasion. The fort finally lost its military importance in 1812 or 1816, after which all the structures in its interior were torn down. In 1827 it was sold to a private individual to be used for agriculture.

The fort is now owned by Natuurmonumenten; an environmental organization. In 2008 they started to restore the fort by rebuilding its ramparts and restoring its moat. Originally entry to the fort would have been from the south. The present entrance from the north was built during the fort's recent reconstruction. The fort is now a nice natural setting but because of its low profile and lack of any buildings it is hard to see its outline at ground level.

At present the site of Fort Henricus is freely accessible.

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