To put Bourtange even more in the spotlight, Westerwolde is investigating whether the municipality can become a member of the Association of Dutch Fortified Cities (VNV).
Alderman Giny Luth (Municipal Interests) confirms this. “The mayor and aldermen and the council still have to make decisions about this, but contacts have been made with the VNV.”
Westerwolde would be first in the North
The VNV promotes settlements in the Netherlands in various ways. The association has an extensive website that contains all kinds of information about those places, about the events that take place there, and the walking and cycling routes that run there. VNV encourages cooperation between the fortified towns and supports the municipalities in which those towns are located, with their heritage plans and in other ways. It is therefore municipalities that can become members. Westerwolde would be the first in the North. The current members are municipalities that are mainly located in the south of the country, with fortified towns such as Brielle, Hulst, Veere.
About 100,000 paying visitors
Manager Hendri Meendering of the Vesting Bourtange Foundation (SVB) would welcome that membership. The SVB manages the museums in the fortress and organizes major events, such as battle reenactments. Currently, according to Meendering, about 100,000 people buy a ticket for those museums or an event every year. This makes Bourtange the largest tourist attraction in the province after the Groninger Museum.
,,We already advertise Bourtange in various ways and if that membership comes, the VNV will do the same for us”, says Meendering. “That can generate extra visitors, just like the cooperation with the other places.” Even more visitors would also increase the financial possibilities of the SVB.
Piece of cultural history
Alderman Luth also sees those advantages. “A piece of cultural history that we are proud of can become even more famous. And the economy in Bourtange and the surrounding area also benefit from those visitors.”
Incidentally, the investigation into possible membership of the VNV stems from a visit that representatives of the municipality of Oost Gelre recently paid to Bourtange. The fortified town of Groenlo is located in that municipality. “They want to build a museum about the Eighty Years’ War there and wanted to see how we arranged everything here. We already had a relationship with Groenlo. The battle they recreate there is inspired by the one in Bourtange. The municipality of Oost Gelre is a member of the VNV and that’s how the ball got rolling.”
Reconstructed
The Bourtange fortress was built during the Eighty Years’ War as a defensive bastion and served for several centuries. It was dismantled in the 19th century. More than forty years ago, the then municipality of Vlagtwedde decided to reconstruct the fortress, based on old maps. The current Bourtange fortress is therefore no longer the original one.