In 1811, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the construction of Fort Morand in the strategically important town of Den Helder. During the construction phase between 1811 and 1813, hundreds of Spanish prisoners of war were employed alongside craftsmen from the province of North Holland.[1] The total construction cost of the fort is estimated at approximately 230,000 French francs.[2]
Shortly after the fort's completion, Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Leipzig, and many of the positions he had built in the Netherlands were subsequently abandoned or blown up. However, Fort Morand was held by the Dutch-French Admiral Carel Hendrik Verhuell until May 4, 1814. On June 28, 1814, William I, the Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands, had the name of Fort Morand changed by decree to the present-day Kijkduin.
On May 29, 1820, William I again visited the defenses of Den Helder. According to reports, he particularly disagreed with the filling of Fort Kijkduin's dry moat. In 1821 and 1822, a 22-meter-high fortified lighthouse was built on the highest point of the fort.[3]
During the First World War, command of Fort Kijkduin and the other positions along Den Helder's defense line was transferred to the commander of the Willemsoord naval base in Den Helder. The first tests with reinforced concrete anti-tank barriers were carried out on the beach southeast of the fort in 1916.[4]
In 1938, mobilization began in the Netherlands in anticipation of World War II, but Fort Kijkduin initially remained largely unmanned. Only a small garrison was present to coordinate artillery fire. In May 1940, the fort was surrendered to soldiers of the German Wehrmacht without a fight. Under German occupation, some of the fort's fortifications were significantly reinforced, and the fort was integrated into the Atlantic Wall. Furthermore, facilities were installed that allowed trucks to be unloaded undetected. This was done because tests on new torpedoes and anti-aircraft weapons were being conducted at Fort Kijkduin. In 1942, the Kroontjesbunker, still visible today, was built east of the fort as a command post for the anti-aircraft defenses. Despite at least 117 documented bombings of the city of Den Helder, Fort Kijkduin was never itself bombed during the war.[5]
In 1996, the fort was renovated by the Stelling Den Helder Foundation and given its current use as a museum.[6]
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