Haarlemmermeer is a municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The name Haarlemmermeer means 'Haarlem's lake', referring to the body of water from which the region was reclaimed in the 19th century.
Hoofddorp is the main town of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. In 2021, the population was 77,885. The town was founded in 1853, immediately after the Haarlemmermeer had been drained.
The National Redoubt was a strategic defensive belt of fortifications built in Belgium. The National redoubt was the infrastructural cornerstone of Belgian defensive strategy from 1890–1940.
The Spaarne is a river in North Holland, Netherlands. This partially canalized river connects the Ringvaart to a side branch of the North Sea Canal. It runs through Haarlem, Heemstede, and Spaarndam.
The Stelling van Amsterdam, Defence Line of Amsterdam), is a 135-kilometre (84 mi) ring of fortifications around Amsterdam. It has 42 forts that are 10–15 kilometres (6.2–9.3 mi) from the centre and lowlands, which can easily be flooded in time of war. The flooding was designed to give a depth of about 30 centimetres (12 in), too little for boats to cross. Any buildings within 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of the line had to be made of wood so that they could be burnt and the obstruction removed.
The Ringvaart is a canal in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. The Ringvaart is a true circular canal surrounding the Haarlemmermeer polder and forms the boundary of the Haarlemmermeer municipality. Ringvaart is also the name of the dike bordering the canal.
The Damrak is an avenue and partially filled in canal at the centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands, running between Amsterdam Centraal in the north and Dam Square in the south. It is the main street where people arriving at the station enter the centre of the city. Also, it is one of the two GVB tram routes from the station into the centre, with lines 4, 9, 16, and 25 running down it. It is also on the route of the North/South Line being constructed between the existing metro station at Centraal Station and the new Rokin station.
Vijfhuizen is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, and lies about 4 km southeast of Haarlem. In January 2011, the town of Vijfhuizen had 4387 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.48 km2, and contained 728 residences. The wider statistical area of Vijfhuizen has a population of around 2800.
The Koningshooikt–Wavre Line, abbreviated to KW Line and often known as the Dyle Line after the Dijle (Dyle) river, was a 60 kilometres (37 mi)-long fortified line of defence prepared by the Belgian Army between Koningshooikt and Wavre which was intended to protect Brussels from a possible German invasion. Construction on the KW Line began in September 1939 after World War II had begun but while Belgium itself remained a neutral state. It was subsequently extended southwards from Wavre towards Namur. The line itself consisted of bunkers, anti-tank ditches, and barricades including so-called Cointet-elements and played a key role in Allied strategy during the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940. However, its role in the actual fighting was ultimately minimal. In 2009 an inventory of surviving emplacements was begun.
The Singel is one of the canals of Amsterdam. The Singel encircled Amsterdam in the Middle Ages, serving as a moat around the city until 1585, when Amsterdam expanded beyond the Singel. The canal runs from the IJ bay, near the Central Station, to the Muntplein square, where it meets the Amstel river. It is now the inner-most canal in Amsterdam's semicircular ring of canals.
The A4 motorway, also called Rijksweg 4, is a motorway in the Netherlands running southwards from Amsterdam to the Belgian border near Zandvliet, north of the city of Antwerp. The 119-kilometre-long (74 mi) A4 is divided into two sections; the first and longer section runs from Amsterdam to the A15 near the city of Rotterdam, while the second section starts near Heijningen, where the A29 and the A4 meet, going to the Belgian border.
The Museum De Cruquius occupies the old Cruquius steam pumping station in Cruquius, the Netherlands. It derives its name from Nicolaas Kruik (1678–1754), a Dutch land-surveyor and one of many promoters of a plan to pump the Haarlemmermeer dry. Like many well-educated men of his time, he latinized his name to Nicolaus Samuel Cruquius. During his lifetime the issue of the Haarlem Lake and how to pump it dry was international news, as the following excerpt from the Virginia Gazette on 31 May 1751 illustrates:
Pampus is an artificial island and late 19th-century sea fort located in the IJmeer near Amsterdam. Pampus now belongs to the municipality of Gooise Meren and is open to visitors.
Oostpoort is a neighborhood in the borough Amsterdam-Oost in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Schinkelbuurt is a little neighborhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located directly south of Amsterdam's city centre and it is part of the borough Amsterdam-Zuid, in the part of the city known as the Old South.
Iepenrode, or Ipenrode, is the name of a villa in Heemstede, the Netherlands, between the Leidsevaart and Herenweg, located north of Huis te Manpad and south of Berkenrode. It was once the summer home of various mayors (burgemeesters) of Haarlem and is currently privately owned.
The walls of Amsterdam were built in the Middle Ages to protect the city against attack. The Medieval walls were replaced with a series of bastions in the 17th century. In the 19th century, the walls were torn down and replaced with the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a fortification line which encircled Amsterdam at a distance from the city.
Cruquiuseiland is a suburb the Eastern Docklands in the Zeeburg district of Amsterdam. The majority of the area is the man-made Cruquius Island itself, although some adjacent land is also part of the area. It is bordered on the north by Borneolaan, the west is near bounded by rail, the south by Lozingskanaal and the east by the Rijnkannel.
The Fort along Den Ham is a fort that is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Stelling van Amsterdam. It's located along the railroad from Uitgeest to Krommenie. The earthen walls date from 1896, the fort itself was finished in 1903.
The Grimburgwal is a small canal and street in the center of Amsterdam.
View of the geniedijk, looking southwest from fort Vijfhuizen
View of bunkers, representing fore position of fort Vijfhuizen
View of the road crossing the bunkers of fort Cruquius, the secondmost fore position of fort Vijfhuizen (seen from below the dike looking up towards the ringvaart. The trees are on the Heemstede side of the canal).
Old aerial photo of the fort and surroundings along the ringvaart canal
