Machine Gun Nest Mill Hellevoetsluis

Hellevoetsluis has an illustrious past as a naval port. Piet Hein sailed his treasure fleet there, and Michiel de Ruiter kept his office there. There were barracks for soldiers, a real dry dock and a naval hospital. At that time, the Canal through Voorne was the most important shipping route to Rotterdam. In the 1930s, the navy chose Den Helder as its most important port. Hellevoetsluis was abandoned and economically slipped far down.

After the start of the Second World War, the Germans took possession of the former naval port. They practiced an invasion of England with horses (!) , moored small torpedo boats and placed several large guns. In the middle of the war, the western quay was demolished. They say because the Germans needed the field of fire for their guns, but the huge bunker complex also prevented that field of fire. It is more logical that the demolition served to collect building blocks and to create work and storage space.

Molen de Hoop and the Bellenhuis survived the Germans' urge to act. The Bellenhuis to house troops, and the mill as a machine gun nest with all-round visibility.

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