Naval coastal battery Heerenduin

Before the war, this very site — directly by the sea — had been home to a picturesque campsite. During the war, however, defensive structures rose here to protect the port of IJmuiden.

In the years leading up to the war, the Dutch army constructed four coastal batteries around the harbor — two north of the North Sea Canal and two south of it.

One of these Dutch batteries was located precisely where the Kriegsmarine would later build Battery Heerenduin after occupying the Netherlands.

The Dutch coastal batteries saw no action during the May days of 1940. The Wehrmacht had chosen to invade the Netherlands from the east, not from the sea. Under the terms of the Dutch surrender, the coastal guns were to be handed over undamaged — though many Dutch artillerymen attempted to sabotage them before doing so.

After Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands, the Kriegsmarine was ordered to defend the harbor of IJmuiden. Over the course of the war, it built three heavily fortified coastal batteries: one north of the canal, one on the Kernwerk (Fort Island), and one to the south. The southern battery — located on the site of the former campsite and Dutch battery — was initially named Prien, after the then-famous U-boat captain Günther Prien. Later, it was renamed Heerenduin.

Battery Heerenduin consisted of four 17 cm naval guns, each housed in massive reinforced concrete bunkers with two-meter-thick walls and roofs — strong enough to withstand Allied bombing. Behind these stood ammunition bunkers and crew quarters, also built from concrete.

At the center of the complex rose the fire-control post (Leitstand), towering above the dunes. This large structure, the most prominent of the battery, is nicknamed the “car bunker” due to its distinctive, vehicle-like shape.

Today, the entire battery — with all its bunkers — is a designated national monument. A walking trail runs past the site, featuring QR codes that provide visitors with detailed historical information.