This walking route takes you past places of interest from the war. Travel back in time and experience the turbulent history. Walk past bunkers in the dunes and forest and visit the impressive Bunker Museum in West-Terschelling. The bunker fortifications in Formerum, Hoorn and Oosterend are accessible by bike.
The Atlantic Wall on Terschelling
You see them everywhere on the island: the remains of German bunkers from WWII. These buildings dot the landscape and their walls have many stories to tell. During the occupation of Terschelling, the Germans built hundreds of bunkers as part of the Atlantic Wall. This strategic defence line covered more than 5,000 kilometres, from Spain to Norway. The German army hoped the Atlantic Wall would prevent an invasion by the allied forces.
Bunker complexes
Terschelling was an important position for the Germans in this defence line. Allied planes and ships on their attack route to Germany could be easily intercepted from the island. With this goal in mind, German troops built radar installations, Flak batteries and around 500 bunkers on Terschelling. The bunkers served as crew quarters, outlook posts or gun turrets for machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons. Some of the bunkers have either been destroyed or have disappeared into the sea over the years but there are still many that lie hidden in the sand. The most important bunkers in West-Terschelling have been excavated to make the memories of the war visible.
