Report - Hembrug Remains and Two Forts (Amsterdam, Netherlands, Jul, 2019)

[urbanchemist]

Roped into a family holiday in Amsterdam visiting in-laws, I was soon looking around for something to explore.
I don’t know about the rest of the Netherlands, but Amsterdam seems to be an urbex desert - everything is far too tidy and developed.
The only area that looked at all promising was Hembrug, an old industrial site on the north side of the city which produced weapons and explosives from 1897 until after WW2 (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hembrug_(Zaanstad)).

These days most of the military-style buildings in Hembrug have been renovated into artists studios, conference centres, restaurants etc. but Google maps suggested there may still be a few derelict bits.
So we headed over and indeed there were some fenced-off sheds - nothing inside them, but interesting enough to look round all the same.
There looked to be more derelict stuff in a heavily wooded area of the site, but we didn’t get to see it since clearance work was going on at the time and we got shooed away by security.

Photos were taken handheld on auto, using torch and flash when it was too dark.

 

[urbanchemist]

Continued

One of the functions of the Hembrug site was to supply the ‘Stelling van Amsterdam’, a series of defensive forts which circle Amsterdam (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stelling_van_Amsterdam).
These were built between 1880 and 1920, although technological advantages soon rendered them obsolete. Some of the forts are visitor attractions and most of the others are used by various businesses.
We selected a couple north of Amsterdam near the sleepy little town of Purmerend, since they didn’t appear to be in use and were also said to be ‘not open to the public’.
Pedalling off on hired bicycles across the flat countryside the forts themselves are not particularly impressive to look at - just grassy lumps surrounded by moats.
Access was rather easy - a couple of fences for one (Fort aan de Jisperweg) and for the other (Fort aan de Middenweg) we just asked an old chap in the garden of guardhouse if we could have a look.
He said fine, let us in and switched on the lights. This one turned out to be owned by his son, and is due to be developed into a ‘wellness centre’. These forts don’t contain guns or anything exciting like that, but are otherwise fairly unmodernised.

Satellite views of the two forts.

Plans of the Middenweg fort - both forts are much the same inside.

Some exteriors for Fort aan de Jisperweg.

Some exteriors for Fort aan de Middenweg.

A selection of interiors from both forts - some of these are phone pics.
The ventilation grills under the windows were protected on the outside with iron plates which were loose enough to allow air flow, but were supposed to get blown inwards forming a seal in the event of a nearby explosion, protecting the inhabitants from the overpressure.

Iron impurities were removed from pumped groundwater with these ‘ontijzeringsinstallatie’ contraptions.
Water flowed down the baffles at the top, oxidizing the iron is solution to rust, which was filtered out through sand in the boxes on the floor.

The de-ironed water was used for general washing purposes - rainwater was preferred for drinking and cooking. The tiltable iron wash basins were apparently a novelty.

 

[HughieD]

Superb report and excellent pix mate...

 

[Bugsuperstar]

The forts are brilliant. The sort of place i would definitely enjoy visiting.

 

[Baggy trousers]

Great report and excellent pictures there fella.

 

[Ferox]

Brilliant report and pics bud
Know what you mean about their not being much in Amsterdam to explore. Had a look for something before I went over in 2016. Very sparse. Cool find