Schuilplaats E Fort De Bilt

Schuilplaats E Fort De Bilt forms part of Fort De Bilt, a historic defensive site beside Utrecht’s Biltse Straatweg. Its surviving sections stand on both sides of the road, surrounded by traces of the New Dutch Waterline. Construction began around 1820, when Dutch engineers used earth and timber to guard against renewed French aggression. Later upgrades added thick brick walls, heavy earthen roofs and a reduit, a smaller inner fort designed as a final refuge. The surrounding landscape also preserves links to the Kringenwet of 1853, which restricted building within 300 metres of the fort.

The site changed sharply during and after the Second World War. German occupiers used it for executions, including those of Dutch resistance members such as Henk Boender in April 1945. From 1945 until autumn 1946, the fort held women associated with the Dutch National Socialist Movement, or NSB. Today, one remaining section serves the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, while another is used by Pro Demos. A few wooden houses still survive beyond the former restricted zone, recalling the clear fields of fire that once shaped this corner of Utrecht.