Would you like to visit a historical landmark during your holiday? Then you can go to Fort Beekenburg because it still shows a lot of history.
Fort Beekenburg was built between 1701 and 1704. The Spanish Water was one of the few suitable places to go ashore from the sea. That is why it was decided to build a fort to make it impossible for enemies to reach the city of Willemstad.
The fort is named after Mr. van Beek between 1701 and 1704 who coordinated the protection of the city.
During the 18th century, the fortress was able to stop several attacks from French and British troops.
At one point, the British tried to get around the fortress by climbing the adjacent mountain. However, this was so problematic and it took too long for the plan to be halted and a decision to withdraw before the Dutch gathered their troops. From 1800 to 1803 and from 1807 to 1816 Curaçao was occupied by the British. Fort Beekenburg was attacked by pirates several times, without success.
While you are at Fort Beekenburg, a visit to the Quarantaine building is also worthwhile. It's only a five minute drive up. You can already see the Quarantaine building from the fort.
A fantastic heritage opportunity - sadly missed. This unique building could be a wonderful place for tourists to visit during their stay in Curaçao. However, it is neglected, has some graffiti (which definitely needs to be removed!) and litter sandwiched between ancient cannons! With some official intervention and some collective effort, this great heritage site could be cleaned up and become a much more inviting place to visit. At the moment it is just a sad, neglected piece of Curaçao's rich history…