The purpose of the Dutch Waterlines was to make Amsterdam inaccessible to the enemy in the event of war. Because as long as the capital was not captured, the Netherlands was not occupied, was the idea. Of the more than 100 forts in the Lines, the vast majority are located along inland waterways. But there was still a large undefended spot left, on the side of the Zuiderzee. To also be protected on that side, fortress island Pampus was built. At the time, the fortress was largely self-sufficient. We are currently working hard to be as autonomous as possible again in the future.
Make drinking water
In times of threat of war, the fortress island was well manned: 200 men were ready to stop the enemy and all those men had to eat and drink every day. And that without supply from elsewhere being possible. Rain was used to make drinking water. Around the roof of the fort is a wide gutter, which carries all the rain into the dry moat, where it sinks down along sand and pebbles and is thus filtered clean before entering the basin. Nowadays, at Pampus, they do not make rain, but the water from the surrounding IJmeer drinkable, using modern techniques.
Growing food
Pampus is also working on providing its own food. With all the visitors visiting the fortress island, it is not feasible to do this 100%, but special crops such as palm cabbage and truffle potatoes are grown on the island for the restaurant. The bulk of vegetables and potatoes still comes from the mainland. Preferably from suppliers from within the Defense Line of Amsterdam. That fits with the original idea of the Defense Line: that all the food for the people who lived inside had to come from there.
Generate energy
To top it all off, Pampus also wants to be self-sufficient in terms of energy. “Just as this island was off-grid in 1895, we still are,” explains Bart Kuilman, director of Pampus Events. “There is no cable running to shore.” Currently, electricity is generated by means of a diesel generator, but that will be a thing of the past within 5 years. Where the coal storage used to be located, installations are now being built to obtain all energy from the sun, wind, hydrogen and bio-fermentation. “Then we will be the first fossil-free UNESCO World Heritage Site.”
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If you would like to know more about this subject, you can do so on the website Dutch Waterlines
Along the Dutch Waterlines consists of 12 episodes and is a collaboration between the regional broadcasters NH, RTV Utrecht, Omroep Gelderland and Omroep Brabant.
The series was made possible by: Hoogheemraadschap De Stichtse Rijnlanden, Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier, Waterschap Amstel, Gooi en Vecht, Waterschap Rivierenland, Province of North Holland, Province of Utrecht, Province of Gelderland and Province of North Brabant.