The Lunettes
Lunetten consists of four forts located next to each other. Lunet IV is the most accessible to the public. You can buy tasty products in the country shop and enjoy a drink and a sandwich in the lunch restaurant 'the Taste of Lunet'. You will be served by people with disabilities who work at this 'care fort'. There is also space for meetings, exhibitions and children's parties. Lunet I houses the educational 'Fortress of Democracy' and after-school care. Lunet III is used by the Utrecht Monumentenwacht Foundation as an office, workshop and storage space. And it is home to an after-school care centre and a scouting group.
The defence complex of the Lunett...
Lunetten consists of four forts located next to each other. Lunet IV is the most accessible to the public. You can buy tasty products in the country shop and enjoy a drink and a sandwich in the lunch restaurant 'the Taste of Lunet'. You will be served by people with disabilities who work at this 'care fort'. There is also space for meetings, exhibitions and children's parties. Lunet I houses the educational 'Fortress of Democracy' and after-school care. Lunet III is used by the Utrecht Monumentenwacht Foundation as an office, workshop and storage space. And it is home to an after-school care centre and a scouting group.
The Lunetten defensive complex was built between 1822 and 1828 on the southeast side of Utrecht on the Houtense Vlakte. This higher sandy ridge could not be flooded. The ramparts of the four forts were additionally reinforced with a heavy brick cladding. Later, they also formed the security of the railway access from Den Bosch and Arnhem. This 'modern' infrastructure was deliberately routed with a deflection in the middle of the Lunetten. After all, the enemy could also come by train.
Utrecht City
It's almost a shame to cycle out of Utrecht. The car-free city centre surrounds the Dom tower, the tallest and oldest church tower in the Netherlands. It has great canals with wharf cellars and waterside terraces. The centuries-old university town is wonderfully cosy. You can also sail along on De Meern 1, a replica of a Roman ship. A well-known Utrecht resident is Dick Bruna, creator of the world-famous picture books about Miffy. His original studio is visible in the Centraal Museum.
Kromhout Barracks and Fort Vossegat
Utrecht was crucial from the nineteenth century onwards because of all its barracks. In the Kromhout Barracks from 1913, Major General Kromhout and his engineers made designs for the New Dutch Waterline. Also on this site are the remains of the former Fort Vossegat. On the other side of the Waterlinieweg is the Rietveld Schröderhuis, a residential house designed by Gerrit Rietveld, which is also a Unesco World Heritage Site.