Bunker 599 in Diefdijk by Ronald Rietveld

The goal of Dutch artist Erick de Lyon and landscape architect Ronald Rietveld was to make history more understandable, which they achieved in an admirable way with the 'Bunker 599' project. The massive concrete bunker near Utrecht was part of the so-called 'New Dutch Water Line', which conceptually continued from the original line of bastion fortresses known thereafter as the Old Dutch Water Line. This, however, was more advanced to the east and protected a larger area around the important city of Utrecht. The construction of this military defense line began in 1816, practically right after the formation of the independent Dutch state, and its main purpose in the event of an attack was to intentionally flood the territory and thus protect against the enemy. Major construction took place between 1840 and 1870, followed by the construction of small independent structures before both world wars.
Bunker 599, dating from 1940, was part of a defensive line composed of more than 700 bunkers. Both Dutch creators chose to seemingly indestructible concrete bunker to cut it open, thus revealing all the internal spaces. The resulting crack between the two halves of the bunker leads a direct path made of concrete slabs. This path descends from the top of the embankment, passes through the bunker, and ends at a bridge over an artificially flooded lake.

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