Bear of Stone

About this location

This Zeeland fortification is dominated by a massive weathered brick wall sloping into a still, green moat, topped by a grass-covered rampart, stone coping, and a small conical-roofed guard turret. Within the works, barrel-vaulted brick tunnels recede into darkness, lined with rectangular openings that admit pale light and floored with wet, uneven cobblestone, while a bright far opening frames a silhouetted figure walking a small dog. A cylindrical brick shaft drops toward a dark spiral staircase, with a weathered wooden beam across the top and moss, algae, and debris clinging to the stained walls. Throughout, the brickwork is damp, stained, and speckled with lichen and moss beneath an overcast sky, giving the quiet site a heavily aged and dilapidated atmosphere.

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