Fort bij Vijfhuizen is part of the sector Sloten in the Stelling van Amsterdam. It was this fort’s task to defend the Ringvaart and the dyke of the Haarlemmermeerpolder, as well as the dry strip of land on the west side of this polder.
Fort bij Vijfhuizen is based on the design model ‘A’ from 1897, in which the domes had an independent place on the side corners. On the terrain there is a so-called ‘Genieloods’. This metal Genieloods is the only preserved unit of the kind. In the near-by Geniedijk there is an adjacent legion.
There is a double moat that was provided with water from the near-by ringvaart by a remaining lever. On the dry strip, two pre-Stellingen were built in 1917-1919, provided with concrete accomodations and machine-gun blocks that are still present.
Fort bij Vijfhuizen is one of the first buildings in the Netherlands made from concrete. The use of concrete was essential for defense structures after the invention of the ‘brisance grenade’, which had a destructive power too strong for brickwork.