To the north of Aardenburg, between 1600 and 1604 the Spaniards built a redoubt to defend the town and the harbour. It was called the Olieschans, after the village of Odelinsbrugge which must have been situated there. When Prince Maurits conquered the Land of Cadzand in 1604, the Spanish occupation fled. The redoubt fell into the hands of the States almost without a struggle and immediately became embroiled in the siege of Sluis. After the Twelve Years’ Truce, the Olieschans lost its military importance. During the reclamation of the flooded lands to the north of Aardenburg in 1649, the redoubt came to lie in the western dyke of the Isabellapolder. Decline set in and in 1672 the redoubt was abandoned. Eventually all that remained was a barely visible mound in the landscape. But in 2006-2008, the redoubt was partially reconstructed and is now prominently visible.
