History of Fort den Haak

The history

On 30 July 1809 an English invasion force, 40,000 strong, landed here with the intention of conquering the island of Walcheren in order to occupy Antwerp. To this end they had to expel the French who were stationed at Walcheren at the time of the Dutch kingship of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the younger brother of Emperor Napoleon 1. The fort was shot at by gunboats and taken under the leadership of the English General Fraser. This sounds more heroic than it actually was; “At high tide at half past four in the afternoon of July 30, the unloading of three divisions under the generals Graham, Fraser and Paget on Walcheren beach began. This beach is fairly flat and flanked by dunes. When gunboats headed for the coast, the Dutch garrison left Fort Den Haak without a fight. No resistance was encountered, no shot was fired during the landing. The English field guns were pulled over the beach with manpower, as the deploying low tide made it impossible to land horses. The fort was then dismantled.

 

 

Holiday park Fort den Haak

After the construction of the subtropical garden at the beginning of this decade, the garden has been visited by thousands of enthusiasts for years. The garden is now part of a revitalization of the entire area between the village of Vrouwenpolder and the beach. The sub-tropical garden Fort den Haak has since been renamed Holiday park Fort den Haak. The holiday park with 25 luxury rental chalets will be opened in the spring of 2020. Immediately next to our holiday park a new pitch & putt golf course opens and there are fish ponds, a must on your holiday to-do-list.