Schenkenschanz is a village within Kleve and home to about 100 inhabitants (2013).
nature preserve
. Schenkenschanz is located about 5 km north of the center of Kleve. Until 1972 it could only be reached by ferry service across the nearby old Rhine arm, while today the Kleve-Griethausen bridge provides a road connection.
The area of Schenkenschanz is subject to the influence of the
Rhine river due to flooding, erosion, formation of islands and changes in the course of the river. Schenkenschanz had military significance when it was the point that split the Rhine river into two arms, the southern Waal and the northern Nederrijn
.
Flooding
by the Rhine in 1995 forced a complete evacuation of the village.
Schenkenschanz/Schenkenschans fortress
After the
star fortress
with extensive fortification works on both sides of the river representing at its time one of the strongest fortifications in Europe. It controlled the river access to the Netherlands.
During the Franco-Dutch War French troops under Louis XIV attacked the fortress successfully in 1672.[2] Two years later Brandenburg-Prussian troops took over, dismantled the fortress[2] and returned the place to the Dutch in 1679.
By the end of the 17th century Rhine water flowed more and more into the Waal while the Nederrijn at Schenkenschanz was sanding up. The creation of the Pannerdens Kanaal in 1701/09 repositioned the fork between the two rivers west to Millingen aan de Rijn and Schenkenschanz lost its military significance.