Bergen op Zoom Fortress

During the 13th century, Bergen op Zoom grew to become a proper town, and around 1330, a protective wall was built around it. With the outbreakof the Eighty Years’ War it was decided to extend and strengthen the borders of the town, particularly as it had become strategically important as the ‘Key to Zeeland’. This meant that if Bergen op Zoom should fall, then Zeeland would be vulnerable to Spanish invasion and conquest. For this reason the Zeeland ‘States’ garrisoned extra troops in the town. There are still relics to be found bearing witness to the long sieges, including the siege by Van Parma in 1588 and the Spinola siege in 1622.

When the Eighty Years’ War finally ended, little was done to keep up the maintenance of the fortifications around the town. Consequently, the French army had very little difficulty in bringing the town to its knees in 1672. Menno van Coehoorn was given the order to strengthen the town’s defences after the town was taken back by the Hollanders. When the work was completed, people considered the town to be impregnable and called it ‘La Pucelle’ (the Virgin). Sadly, this was not to be the reality. In 1747 the French seized Bergen op Zoom after bombardment. The arrival of the French revolutionary troops marked the end of a long period of rule by the Marquises who had been the most prominent rulers over the Southern Netherlands since the 15th century. The occupation lasted from 1795 until 1814. Bergen op Zoom resumed its function as a border town in 1830 when it broke away from Belgium.