The Ommerschans was a
fortress built in 1628 as part of a defence line to defend the northern provinces of
Groningen and
Friesland from the marauding
count Hendrik van den Bergh (in Spanish service) after the expiration of the
Twelve Years' Truce. Its defences were strengthened again in the middle of the 17th century to defend against a possible invasion from the
east. Nonetheless, the fortress was captured without any resistance when the Catholic bishops
Bernhard von Galen of
Münster and
Maximilian Henry of
Cologne invaded in 1672, the so-called
rampjaar (or disaster year) that started the
Franco-Dutch War. The 146
musketeers and 55
pikemen stationed at Ommerschans fled north, only to return later that year when the bishops retreated after their failed
siege of the northern city of
Groningen. Under pressure from the citizens of Ommen and after the
Peace of Utrecht of 1713, the fortress was closed down in 1715, only to be reinstated as a fortified
arsenal in 1740 when
war reignited in
Continental Europe. During the
Patriot Revolt of 1787, militias from
Zwolle,
Kampen and
Vollenhove conquered and pillaged Ommerschans, stealing all its weaponry to help them in their paramilitary struggle against the
regime. The fortification became abandoned and would never again be used for military purposes. In the early 19th century, the Dutch government changed it into a resocialisation institution and labour camp for beggars, prostitutes and alcoholics from
Amsterdam and other
western cities. They were supposed to learn farming and morals by experience so they could reintegrate into society. In reality the beggars were used for semi-forced and all-but-unpaid labour to
reclaim the
wetlands surrounding Ommerschans, eventually reclaiming an area of 4 by 2½ kilometres. Politician and novelist
Jacob van Lennep visited Ommerschans during his walking tour with
Dirk van Hogendorp the younger across the newly independent
United Kingdom of the Netherlands in the summer of 1823, and documented his appal at the conditions at the labour camp: "These hours are certainly among the saddest I have lived through." When the institution went bankrupt in 1859 the Dutch government managed the labour camp until 1889, when it was finally closed down. During its years in operation, between several hundred and two thousand workers would live at Ommerschans at any one time, and an estimated 5448 workers died whilst at Ommerschans. After its closure, the lands around Ommerschans became part of the
state penitential institution Fpc Veldzicht, a few kilometers north at the village of
Balkbrug. The grounds are still being cultivated by means of enforced labour. ==References==