Long before there were Star Ships, Star Fleets, or even Star Dates, there were Star Forts. These occurred in that brief shining moment after the Renaissance but before military architects realized that artillery could pound nearly anything to smithereens. Naarden--which Kathy and Rick put us onto--is such a place and probably an exemplary one. I wasn't all that excited about seeing another fortified town, but the aerial view of this place was more than intriguing. If you want to know more about star forts, go to
Starforts.com.
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Thus; it is said that Allied pilots used Naarden as a navigational aid in WWII;
what you're looking at is a tiny town inside a double moat and massive fortifications,
casemates, artillery, the works; the town was walled from the Middle Ages on, but
only since the 16th century did the works take on the star-shaped configuration,
which was a Renaissance innovation (think: cross-fire, killing- fields, etc.);
continually upgraded and strengthened well into the 19th century, when they should
have known better; part of Amsterdam's defensive perimeter |
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Approaching Naarden on foot; that's the Grote Kerk, center of town; only from
Google Earth can you really appreciate the star shape, etc. |
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| Ditto |
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| Now in town, interesting place, separate post later |
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| Of course I had to do the Naarden Museum and the Netherlands Fortress Museum |
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| Gunner's view |
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| The explanatory video (Dutch only) was in the powder room: no smoking |
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| The usual, um, interesting displays |
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| Thus |
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Napoleon is said to have had lunch while touring the Naarden
fortifications |
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| Early map of Naarden |
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| WWII view? |
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| Another starfort-enclosed town, in Italy (Palmanova?) |
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Naarden more recently; there are many star forts, but only a few star fort enclosed
towns |
