Luchtwachttoren Echten - Sights

In the Ruinen forestry, a beautiful nature reserve in the province of Drenthe, there is a striking air watchtower that was built in 1953 at the request of the Ministry of Defence. At the time, the tower was part of a network of 276 lookouts spread across the country, which was built between 1951 and 1956 to spot enemy aircraft that flew lower than the radar could detect.

The air watchtower in Ruinen was in use until 1964, when the region's Air Guard Corps was disbanded. The tower was then handed over to the Protection of the Population (BB). Today the tower in Echten is one of the few remaining air watchtowers in the Netherlands, with only 19 towers still in good condition.

 air watchtowers were especially important during the Cold War, when the threat of a possible attack by the Soviet Union was high. With the advent of more sophisticated radar equipment, the air watchtowers lost their function and were eventually decommissioned.