Kunstfort bij Vijfhuizen
The monumental Fort at Vijfhuizen is one of the first concrete buildings in the Netherlands and is part of the Defense Line of Amsterdam, a large-scale 19th-century defense plan declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The island is surrounded by distinctive examples of Dutch spatial planning, such as the 19th-century polder landscapes and the 20th-century Vinex architecture.
Art, heritage and nature in one
The fort at Vijfhuizen, one of the three prominent forts built on the defence line through the Haarlemmermeer, is unique in several respects. It is the first fort equipped (1887) with lifting turrets on both flanks. In addition, this fort does not have a single but a double moat. Water from the Ringvaart was brought into the canal using a siphon. This exceptional construction can still be viewed on-site.
Since 2005, the fortress island has been a destination for art, a special place where visual art and military heritage come together. The exhibitions reflect the environment of the fort: a collage of artificial landscapes in which nature has been used for various - now often outdated - purposes.
The Kunstfort is a place where space, time and image intertwine. The programming is inspired by science fiction – artists create alternative realities and question existing systems. Recurring themes are: climate and landscape, border politics and defence models, technology and ritual, dystopia and apocalypse. This is presented in exhibitions, interventions in outdoor spaces and multidisciplinary exchanges.
If you want to know more about what the fort has to offer, go to the website for information.
