Star fort planner
Build a Dutch-style fortress with bastions, like Naarden, Bourtange or Palmanova. Choose the number of bastions and how big and sharp they are. The tool draws the trace the way it was done with compass and ruler, and works out the rampart, the moat, the ravelins and the glacis block by block.
Trace
The sloping side of a bastion, from the point to the shoulder.
From the shoulder straight back to the curtain. From here you defend the moat.
How wide the bastion joins the curtain at the back.
Rampart
Moat and outworks
0 = no moat.
A triangular island in front of every curtain. 0 = none.
An earth slope beyond the moat. 0 = none.
Gates and town
Every gate gets a bridge over the moat.
0 = no square.
Cross-section
A cut from the middle outwards, with the middle of the fort on the left. The dotted line is ground level. Click a layer to view it.
Plan view
The thick line is the trace, the dashed lines are the circle and the inner polygon. Click near a bastion to pick it.
Build breakdown
The points of the trace
| Bastion | Direction | Point (x, z) | Left shoulder | Right shoulder |
|---|
Per layer, from top to bottom
Click a layer to view it.
| Layer | Blocks | Stairs | Water | Earth |
|---|
Build tips
- First mark the middle, then run a line of blocks out to every bastion point. The table gives the points in blocks from the middle.
- Build the outline on layer 1 all the way round before you go up. A mistake in the trace is easiest to spot there.
- Dig the moat only once the rampart stands. Put the water in last, so it does not flow into your building site.
- On a sloped face, place the stairs with your back to the fort. That puts the high side inwards.
- In the block palette, choose "Per part" to give the rampart, the parapet and the ravelins each their own block.
- Big fortresses cost a lot of blocks. Set Inside the bastions to Hollow if you want to fit out the bastions yourself later.
3D and layer-by-layer build plan
To Minecraft
Download the design as a schematic file and paste it into your world with WorldEdit, or rebuild it from a hologram in Litematica. Water, grass and gravel are already in it.
Shopping list
Add the amounts of this design to your list. There you see everything together, converted to stacks and shulker boxes.
How it is calculated
History and fun facts
The cannon changes everything
In the 15th century, cannons became strong enough to break high castle walls. High, thin walls were no longer safe.
Italian engineers therefore invented a new kind of fortress: low, thick ramparts of earth and stone, with pointed parts sticking out. This became the trace italienne, the Italian system.
Why a star?
A bastion is a five-sided work that sticks out from the rampart. From the flanks of the bastion, defenders can fire along the wall. So there is no blind spot where the enemy can hide.
The stretch of rampart between two bastions is called the curtain. Seen from above, together they form a star. A wide moat, ravelins and an earth slope, the glacis, kept the enemy even further away.
The Old Dutch system
During the Eighty Years' War, the Dutch built many fortresses. They used earth ramparts and wet moats, because stone was expensive and there was plenty of water.
Mathematicians such as Simon Stevin wrote about designing fortresses. This led to fortified towns such as Naarden, Bourtange, Willemstad and Heusden.
Vauban and the great fortresses
In France, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban designed more than a hundred fortresses for King Louis XIV. He built with stone and added more and more outworks.
In Italy, Venice began building Palmanova in 1593, an ideal town with nine bastions and streets that spread out from the centre.
How was a star fort built?
Engineers drew the outline with compass and ruler: first a circle and a polygon, then the points of the bastions. In the field they marked these lines with posts and rope.
Thousands of workers dug the moat and used the earth for the rampart. Grass on the rampart held the earth together and absorbed cannonballs.
Did you know?
- Palmanova in Italy was founded in 1593 and has nine bastions.
- Twelve fortifications by Vauban have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2008.
- Naarden has six bastions and a double moat.
- Bourtange in the province of Groningen was laid out in 1593 and later restored as a five-pointed star.
- The New Dutch Waterline and the Defence Line of Amsterdam are together on the World Heritage List.
About this tool
With this star fort generator you build a Dutch fortress with bastions in Minecraft, like Naarden, Bourtange or Palmanova. The tool draws the outline with compass and ruler and works out the rampart, the moat and the outworks layer by layer.
You choose the number of bastions and the radius to the point. With face, flank and half gorge you decide how big and sharp each bastion is. For the rampart you set the height, the thickness and the outer side (straight, sloped or 45°), the material (stone, earth with grass or stone with earth on top) and a parapet with battlements, a low wall or slabs.
Then you choose the moat: water, ice or dry, with width and depth. You can add ravelins, a covered way and a glacis. Each gate gets a bridge, and in the middle there can be a square with streets in all directions or only to the gates. Examples such as Willemstad, a Vauban fortress, a winter fortress or a small redoubt help you get started.
The floor plan, the section and the layer-by-layer build plan show what to build, and the 3D view shows the whole fortress. A table gives the points of the outline in blocks from the centre. The counter counts blocks, stairs, water and earth. With the block palette you give rampart, parapet and ravelins their own block, and then you download the fortress as a .schem file.
Build a town or a castle inside the walls, or put windmills on the bastions, as in real Dutch fortified towns.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build a star fort in Minecraft?
First mark the centre. Then lay a line of blocks to each bastion point from the table. Build the outline on layer 1 all the way round before you go up; a mistake is easiest to see there.
How many bastions should I choose?
Five or six bastions give a classic star, like Bourtange and Naarden. With three or four you get a small redoubt. Nine or more gives a large fortified town like Palmanova, but costs many more blocks.
What is a ravelin?
A ravelin is a triangular island in the moat, in front of each curtain. It protects the rampart between two bastions. In the tool you set how deep the ravelins are; 0 means none.
How do I stop the water from flowing away?
Dig the moat only after the rampart is built. Add the water last, so it does not flow into your building site. A frozen moat of ice does not flow and is easier.
How do I save blocks?
Set 'Inside the bastions' to Hollow. Then you only build the rampart, and you can fill the bastions yourself later. An earth rampart with grass is also cheaper than a stone one.
Can I build this in Bedrock?
The layer-by-layer build plan and the table of points work in every edition, including Bedrock. The .schem file is for Minecraft Java Edition, with WorldEdit or Litematica.