Liefkenshoek
Liefkenshoek is a locality located in the old commune of Kallo (which forms part today of the entity of Beveren, Belgium, Flanders-Eastern province of ), on left bank of the the Scheldt, a little in the south of Doel, opposite Lillo-Fort.
The extremely of Liefkenshoek was built on this locality at the 16th century, on the initiative of William of Orange, and made during at the height of Lillo. He played a certain part in the wars of religion, in particular at the time of the seat of Antwerp.
The tunnel of Liefkenshoek ( Liefkenshoektunnel in néerl.), tunnel under the built Scheldt in the vicinity, was of course named according to this locality.
History
It is with the insistence of William of Orange that were built, on behalf of sedition, a casemate with Liefkenshoek in 1582 and another in Lillo in 1584, like fulcrums falling under a system of fortifications around the town of Antwerp, then threatened by the troops of Alexandre Farnèse. In June and July 1584, the lieutenants of the duke of Parma tried to seize the two forts. Mondragón was constrained, after heavy losses, of raising the head office of Lillo, but Richebourg managed to seize Liefkenshoek on July 10th, 1584, which put Farnèse able to throw across the Scheldt, starting from the conquered fort, its famous bridge of boats, 800 meters length, intended to prevent the insurrectionists of north to be gone to the help of Antwerp besieged. Justin de Nassau admittedly succeeds in taking again possession of Liefkenshoek at at the beginning of April 1585, however to prevent the fall of Antwerp in August too late. At the time of from Antwerp capitulation, the two forts remained with the hands of the United Provinces, making those capable to impose a total blockade of the Scheldt; moreover, Lillo and Liefkenshoek having been allotted to the United Provinces by the Treated of Westphalia, the closing of the Scheldt could be actually maintained for one long period, until the moment when, under the terms of the Traité of Fontainebleau of 1785, the State-Generals had to yield the two fortifications to Joseph II. If it already had been conquered certainly (at the same time as the fort of Lillo) in 1747 by the French troops, during the War of succession of Austria, the fort had had however, by the Traité of Aachen, being restored in the Netherlands of North. After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the Dutch garrisons managed to be maintained in the two forts until 1839. Dismantled by the Belgian government in 1894, they lost any military function then. From 1843 to 1952, the fort of Liefkenshoek was used as center of Forty.
The fort of Liefkenshoek is since 1980 property of the commune of Beveren, and was classified historic building in 1985.
Actual position
The fort of Liefkenshoek, better still than his/her “brother” of other bank, the extremely of Lillo, corresponds to the prototype of the fortifications of the 16th century and accurately preserved some the basic plan. However, the ammunition dump, as well as the semicircular masonry, called “the Cat” (néerl. of Kat ), which occupies the center of the fort, was built only in 1810 and 1811, by the French; in this masonry, barracks made up of 12 casemates, could take to garrison some 400 soldiers.
Écomusée
The municipality of Beveren has just completed (2007) the installation of the place in tourist site of excursion: turn of observation accessible to visitors, path allowing to make turn of ramparts, organization of guided visits, etc But especially, four of 12 casemates that the Cat comprises, whose restoration had been committed in 2006, shelter since September 2007 a bezoekerscentrum (term that in the species it did not appear to us unsuitable to translate by écomusée ), which is centered on the following topics: vestiges of the War Eighty year old and navigation, with counterpart of an old ship in which the visitors can take seat (first casemate); floods, dammings up, fisheries and agriculture, and a model of famous the cogue of Doel, put at the day in 2000, a little at the north of Liefkenshoek (second casemate); history of the fort, in particular evocation of its function of center of forty (third casemate); finally, the irruption of the industrial world and new harbor infrastructures of the left bank (fourth casemate).
Faunal reserve
The fort as well as vast wide a surrounding were classified protection zone special-birds (ZPS-O), with the title of the Directive birds of the European Union, under the heading Vasières and polders of the lower Scheldt . The fort is moreover one protected area to the title of the directing habitat , because of the possibilities of hibernation which it is likely to offer to the Chauves-souris.
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