Fort 5

Fort 5 stands in Edegem, Belgium, as a nineteenth-century fortress within Antwerp’s Brialmont defensive ring. Built between 1859 and 1864, it covers about 30 hectares with earthen walls, brick structures, artillery platforms, and a broad moat. Walking paths cross the surrounding green landscape, where the nearby Hof ter Linden estate helps form an area of almost 90 hectares.

Henri Alexis Brialmont designed the eight-fort system after Belgian independence, protecting Antwerp as a national redoubt. German artillery shelled this fort on 8 October 1914, while sixteen Belgian resistance fighters were executed here between 1915 and 1918. Later, barracks, wartime storage, restoration, and community uses reshaped the site, including the coworking space het Bolwerk in the central reduit.

Today, guided tours reveal the buildings, while clubs, cultural events, children’s play areas, a traffic park, a bee park, and a nature classroom animate the grounds. The outer fort protects bats, with 70 to 90 individuals from six to nine species hibernating here each winter.