Fort Stabroek

Fort Stabroek lies north of the village 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 As these forts quickly became outdated, several new forts were added to the ring between 1870 and 1895, positioned farther from the city; among them were Fort Steendorp and Fort Walem.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 Stabroek was built between 1902 and 1907 as the first armored fort of the second ring of forts. It is trapezoid-shaped and surrounded by a moat. The fort didn't play any significant role during both World Wars but was occupied by German troops during the wars. In 1947, it was demilitarized. In 1955, it was sold to a Mr. A. Callens, a dentist, who used it as a country residence and later as a mushroom farm. It is now utilized as a commercial venue by his descendants.

Currently, Fort Stabroek serves as a location for events and group activities, such as paintball. It can be visited, but only as a guest participating in these activities. The fort island is mostly overgrown, and visitors cannot walk around it, so viewing is limited to the front. Still, it remains a charming fort.

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