2022- 1

Published by the IFC for their members and partners 4 editions per year

EDITORIAL

The IFC is pleased to send you the first issue of its Newsletter, a publication that you will now receive regularly to keep you informed of its activity and that of its members who work for the protection, conservation and enhancement of our heritage. fortified, witnesses of our history

WORLD 2023

This calendar is drawn up by the CDSG on the basis of information provided by our members on their planned activities. It is regularly updated and will be included in the first section of our Newsletter

March 23, Paris (France) Hôtel des Invalides, Annual tribute to Marshal Vauban (Association Vauban)

Apr 15-28, Morocco, Eccofort, Study tour

Apr 27 – 29, Ulm (Germany), Interfest, Annual Meeting

May 3 – 9, Portland, Maine (USA), annual conference (Coast Defense Study Group)

May – Lincoln, Nebraska (USA) ; Annual confernce (Council on Military Past)

Jun 7 – 10, Cherbourg (France), Annual Congress (Association Vauban)

Sept – Northern Poland, Strudy Tour (Coast Defense Study Group)

Sept 22-24, Kufstien (Austria), Annual Meeting (Deutsche Gesselschaft für Festungsforschung)

Sep – Amsterdam (or Rome), Study Tour (Eccofort)

Sept – To be announced, Member Day/AGM (Fortress Study Group)

Sept. Liege (Belgium), Study Tour (Association Vauban)

Oct. – Chatham (UK), annual Meeting (International Fortress Council)

IFC NEWS

July 7th, in Naarden, signature by our president Kupka, of a memorandum with the Gyeong Gi Cultural Foundation of Seoul on the exchange of knowledge in the field of fortification

Sept 26 to 29 th, participation of the IFC MM A. Kupka, president and J. van der Werf, secretary general accompanied by two experts, P. Bragard (Belgium) and N. Faucherre (France) in Seoul from September 26 to 29 with interventions during lectures and visits to fortified sites in Seoul (notably its 14th century enclosure and fortresses Hanyendoseop, Tongchudeaseong, )Bukhansenseong, Namhansonseong and Hwaseong

Oct 13 to 16 th, in Bergen op Zoom, IFC Annual meeting under the chairmanship of Andreas Kupka (DGF), Marc Gayda (AV), Vice President, Jereon van der Werf (in charge of the conservation and restoration of the fortifications in Naarden.) general secretary and Evert Westerhuis (MvC), treasurer  On the occasion of this Assembly, the participants were able to visit the remains of the fortifications of Bergen op Zoom by Menno von Coehoorn in 1697 as well as the fortified positions of Rammekens built by the Italian Donato di Boni around 1545 (controls access to the Scheldt in Antwerp) and which will be redesigned by Napoleon, those of Veeren with its old fortifications from the end of the 16th century which will be taken over by Napoleon's engineers creating a bastioned square with double enclosure with battery positions protected by large expanses of water and cofferdams surmounted by checkers between canals or between land and moats blocking access. We will also reach Vlissingen (Flessinge) with the casemates of the Keizersbolwerk built around 1545 also by Donato di Boni reinforced bombproof by Napoleon in 1807 to protect the entrance to the port. The city will also see important works carried out by the Germans within the framework of the Atlantic wall with an observatory equipped with a periscope and a series of defensive blockhouses carried out between 1942 and 44. These positions will be conquered by the commando Kieffer and November 1944.

Photo 1

Nov. 3 th : Death of our friend Maurice Lovisa, cantonal curator of « monuments et sites du canton de Vaud » who represented ASMEM for a long time at IFC. This architect graduated from EPFL, a specialist in Swiss fortifications who had been responsible for the Federal Inventory of combat and command works of the Department of Defence, Population Protection and Sports. He had been director of the services of monuments and sites of the Republic and canton of Geneva before being consultant architect of the SBB (Swiss Railways) with the service of monuments then joining in 2018 the Canton of Vaud as Cantonal Curator of Monuments and Sites. We lose a good friend with this great connoisseur of fortifications, Vauban and was figure of the protection and enhancement of the fortified heritage. Our thoughts to his family and loved ones.

 Photo 2

 2023 projects :

Redesign of the website, study on the use of 3D for the multilingual dictionary in conjunction with the Menno von Coehoorn foundation,

development of partnerships,

continued welcoming of new members (Quebec, Greece, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, …)

Next annual Meeting in UK, at Chatham

http://www.internationalfortresscouncil.org/

INFORMATION FROM OUR MEMBERS

theses informations were collected from the elements transmitted by the associations or mentioned on their websites. When we have no new information on recent or future news, only the references of the website are mentioned

AUSTRIA : ÖSTERREICHISCHE GESSELLSCHAFT FÜR FESTUNGSFORSCHUNG

Projects and Cooperations:

Project „Written in the Landscape“ (Wil) (Universität Bozen) https://www.culturalheritage.unibz.it/written-in-the-landscape/

Architectural project for the flat roof waterproofing and protection of window and door openings in fort no. 41a "Mydlniki", Kraków

 Advising researchers and answering inquiries:

Multiple enquiries related to austro-hungarian fortifications

Specialist counceslling (project Wil)

Identification of objects findings

www.kuk-fortification.net

BELGIUM : SIMON STEVIN VLAAMS VESTINGBOUWKUNDIG CENTRUM www.simonstevin.org

CROATIA : NACIONALNA UDRAGA ZA FORTIFIKACIJE (NUF) www.nuf.hr

CZECH REPUBLIK : CZECH ASSOCIATION FOR MILITARY HISTORY (CAMH) www.kvh-praha.cz

FRANCE : ASSOCIATION VAUBAN

June, publication of number 43 of the Lettre des Oisivetés, the bi-annuel publication of the Association intended for its members and partners, the number 44 will be publied for the next December.

Sept 17th, Presentation of the Vauban Association Prize for the restoration and enhancement of fortified heritage to Mr. Henri Bianco, president of the Friends of the Maginot Works of Frassinéa in Saint Sauveur sur Tinée on September 17 as part of the European Days heritage in the presence of a representative of Mr. Gaël Nofri, representing Christian Estrosi, President of the PACA Regional Council, Jean Merra, Mayor of St Sauveur de Tinée, Pascal Guglielmetti, Mayor of Rimplas.

Sept 26th presentation to Jülich of the Vauban Association Prize for publications and research on fortifications at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Festungsforschung-DGF for his 40 years of research work on the work of Vauban and his successors. The prize was officially presented to President Kupka by Jean Marie Balliet (member of the Scientific Council of the Vauban Association) on behalf of the President of the AV, Alain Monferrand

Writing of the proceedings of our symposiums of November 25, 2020 at the Invalides (Vauban Association) and May 16, 2021 at the Chateau de Vincennes (SHD) for a joint publication Association Vauban and Defense Historical Service (Service Historique de la Défense – Vincennes)

www.association-vauban.org

GERMANY : DEUTSCHE GESSELLSCHAFT FÜR FESTUNGFORSCHUNG

June 2022, publication of the nr 61 of the Festnungsjournal, the bi annual publication of the DGF for its members and partners

The German Society for Fortress Research regularly publishes new publications on fortresses in cooperation with the publishing house Schnell und Steiner or recommends interesting new publications on the subject. The latest publication is Technical and Structural Aspects of Fortress and Siege Artillery (published in 2022)

www.festungsforschung.de

ITALY : RETE DELLE FORTIFICAZIONI www.fortedibard.it

LUXEMBURG : FRËNN VUN DER FESTUNGSGESCHICH LËTZEBUERG

 The FFGL participate at the manifestations organize to celebrate the 25th birthday of the inscription on the World Heritage List of Luxembourg City

June 16th ; Our association was honored by the presence of our Head of State H.R.H. the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg for a private visit of lesser known parts of our fortress city. This visit was organized in conjunction with “Gaul’s Legacy Tours s.à r.l. and the “FFGL a.s.b.l. ". I was very happy and honored as President of FFGL for being able to show the Grand -Duke Henri the underground passages of the Fort Bourbon, the remains of the lock Bourbon, the famous “Aqua Tunnel” which passes under the center of the city, the fortifications around the Porte d’Eich as well as casemates and underground galleries of the Fort Berlaimont.

www.ffgl.lu

MALTA : FONDAZZJONI WIRT ARTNA (Malta Heritage Trust)  

 Sept 8th, Today Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna marked the feast of the 8th of September - Victory Day with a special event at the Saluting Battery culminating with a full-gun salute at midday. 8 Settembre/Victory Day marks the lifting of the Great Siege in 1565, the defeat of the French in 1800 and the surrender of Fascist Italy followed by the surrender of the Italian fleet in Malta in 1943

Sept 19th : On the occasion of the state funeral of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the UK and former Queen of Malta (1964-74), the Armed Forces of Malta fired a 21-gun national salute from the Saluting Battery in Valletta. Given that this was an official state occasion the army Ordnance, field gun, Q.F. 25 Pdr Mark II on Mark I carriage were used in lieu of the eight 32-pdr Smooth Bore Breech Loading saluting guns which presently equip the battery.

Oct 14 th Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority that a rare exchange of maritime salutes is to take place in the Grand Harbour on Friday 14th October 2022 at 11.30 am between the Saluting Battery in Valletta and the visiting S.P.S. Götheborg sailing vessel. This event will be recreating a past maritime tradition when foreign visiting ships including armed merchantmen were required to discharge their loaded cannon outside the harbour in the form of salutes as a sign of their good intentions to which the fortress acknowledged the compliment with an equal number of blank rounds.

 www.wirtartna.org (candidate member)

NETHERLANDS : MENNO VON COEHOORN

 Last parution of the nr 3/2002 of the Revue Saillant a publication of MvC for its members and partners, the nr 22/’ will be published for the next December

www.coehoorn.nl

 SWITZERLAND : ASSOCIATION SAINT MAURICE D’ETUDES MILITAIRES (ASMEM) www.asmem.ch

UNITED KINGDOM : FORTRESS STUDY GROUP

 The latest edition of our Magazine Casemate Nr123 to 125 is now available to members in the resources section (for the members of FSG only) of the website. As well as news and book reviews this edition includes articles on:

• The Defences of Southwold
• The Northern Defences of Gibraltar, Part 3
• A report of the tour to Denmark and Sweden
• The Mobilisation of the Coast Defences in 1914
• Towers of Jersey

www.fsgfort.com

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : COAST DEFENSE STUDY GROUP

 The publication of 3 of the 4 annual issues of the CDSG Newsletter is available on the association's website (CDSGN822.pdf)

Coast Defense Journal  Volume 36 is being published in 2022 (order available on the association’s website)

We are working on our 2023 conference to the former defenses of Portland, Manie in May 2023. We welcome members of the IFC member organizations to attend our conferences.

https://cdsg.org/

Ravelin, the newsletter of the International Fortress Council, Editorial Comitee : IFC Chairman (Andreas Kupka) ; Vice Chairman (Marc Gayda) ; General secretary (Jereon an der Werf) and the redactor of the IFC/CDSG calendar (Terry Mc Govern)

Mariaplaats 51, 3511LM Utrecht, The Netherlands -