Stichting Menno van Coehoorn

What Stichting Menno van Coehoorn does

Stichting Menno van Coehoorn is a Dutch volunteer-run nonprofit foundation (stichting) established in 1932 and headquartered at Mariaplaats 51 in Utrecht, dedicated to the preservation, documentation, and public advocacy of historical Dutch defensive heritage covering fortifications, bunkers, fortress cities, walls, and defensive lines spanning from antiquity through the Cold War. The foundation operates from a documentation center in Utrecht, publishes the quarterly Saillant magazine, organizes member excursions and webinars, and maintains an online collection catalog and terminology reference for heritage researchers and the general public. It holds ANBI public-benefit status with the Dutch Tax Authority (RSIN 802594001) and is supported by approximately 650 members and donors and a nationwide network of roughly 40 volunteer correspondents (rayons).

The foundation's core technical assets are three interactive GIS maps cataloguing distinct historical periods: pre-1940 fortresses, vestingen, and linies; the WWII/Atlantikwall period; and Cold War installations (1945-1991), collectively documenting approximately 20,000 defensive-work objects. Supporting assets include the Adlib-based online collection catalog of books, maps, photographs, plans, and drawings; a multilingual terminology database of fortification terms; the Lex Tempelman collection of military historical drawings; and an archive of annual reports dating to 1932. Data assets are actively being expanded, with a substantial WWII/Atlantikwall GIS donation received and being integrated in early 2025.

The business model is community-led and subscription-anchored: annual membership (lid-begunstiger) at EUR 40, donor (donateur) at EUR 60 or more, one-time publication sales via the Menno webshop, and tax-deductible donations and testamentary gifts under ANBI rules. Member-only excursions (EUR 50) and public webinars extend engagement. Strategic partnerships with the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) and allied heritage organizations such as the Alliantie Zuiderwaterlinie, Vereniging Nederlandse Vestingsteden, Grebbelinie, and Hollandse Waterlinies drive joint research, publications, and the recurring Kennisdag Waterlinies knowledge day.

Name

Stichting Menno van Coehoorn

Legal name

Stichting Menno van Coehoorn

Website

https://coehoorn.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stichting Menno van Coehoorn is a Dutch nonprofit foundation, founded in 1932, that documents and preserves historical Dutch defensive heritage through GIS mapping, publications, excursions, webinars, and a nationwide volunteer correspondent network serving approximately 650 members and donors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Lidmaatschap (Membership fees): Annual membership (lid-begunstiger) fees provide recurring revenue. Members receive the Saillant quarterly magazine, invitations to excursions and webinars, a digital newsletter, discounts on webshop purchases, and access to the documentation centre.
2. Donateurschap (Donor contributions): Annual donor contributions of EUR 60 or more, providing recurring support. Donors receive the Saillant magazine and webinar invitations.
3. Webshop publicaties (Publication sales): Sale of publications including atlases, books, brochures, and other military history materials through the Menno webshop. Prices differ for members/non-members. Toezending franco within the Netherlands, generally within three weeks of payment receipt.
4. Schenkingen en giften (Donations and gifts): One-time or periodic monetary donations and gifts, including legates via testament. The foundation holds ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling) status, making donations tax-deductible.
5. Financiële bijdragen (Subsidies for knowledge development): The foundation occasionally provides financial contributions to external publications and research projects that advance knowledge of defensive heritage, in exchange for attribution and copies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Stichting Menno van Coehoorn is a Dutch nonprofit foundation that preserves, documents, and promotes awareness of historical defensive heritage in the Netherlands. It delivers this through a Documentation Center in Utrecht, an online Collection Catalog, interactive GIS maps covering fortifications, the Atlantikwall, and Cold War sites, a publication webshop, the quarterly Saillant magazine, member-only excursions, and expert webinars.

Product overview

Stichting Menno van Coehoorn operates as a national volunteer organization dedicated to preserving historical defensive heritage in the Netherlands. The organization provides a portfolio of interconnected knowledge services centered around documentation, digital mapping, and publications. Core offerings include a physical Documentation Center with extensive library holdings, an online Digital Collection Catalog for searching archival materials, and interactive GIS Maps visualizing defensive works across historical periods. The organization publishes books and atlases through its Webshop, distributes the quarterly Saillant magazine to members, and engages the public through Webinars and Excursions. Supporting resources include a Terminology Database (multilingual glossary of fortification terms) and archive of Historical Annual Reports dating to 1932. The various services form an integrated knowledge ecosystem for researchers, enthusiasts, and professionals interested in Dutch military heritage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Saillant: Quarterly magazine published by the foundation covering defense heritage, articles, news, and reports on fortifications and military history.

Products and services

• Documentatiecentrum (Documentation Center) In-person documentation centre in Utrecht housing an extensive library on military defence, including books, maps, engravings, floor plans, construction drawings, and photographs; open by appointment to researchers, professionals, and the public, with borrowing privileges for members.
• Collectie catalogus (Digital Collection Catalog) Online searchable Adlib-based catalog allowing users to find books, maps, photographs, plans, and drawings within the foundation's archival collection.
• GIS-kaarten (Interactive GIS Maps) Interactive GIS-based maps documenting Dutch historical defensive works across three periods: pre-1940 fortresses and lines, WWII/Atlantikwall (approximately 20,000 records), and the Cold War (1945-1991), covering military, civilian, and combined heritage objects and sites.
• Webshop Publicaties (Publications Webshop) Online store selling publications including provincial atlases of historical defensive works, books on fortifications, bunkers, waterlines, the Atlantic Wall, Cold War heritage, and terminology guides; priced lower for members and donors, with franco domestic shipping.
• Saillant (Quarterly Magazine) Quarterly journal containing expert articles, news, correspondent reports, and annual reports on defensive heritage, published since 1999, distributed by post to members and donors with a digital archive available approximately one year behind print.
• Webinars Online lectures and presentations on historical defensive heritage topics delivered by experts via Zoom, open to members and non-members (one-time invitation), with recordings published on YouTube.
• Excursies (Excursions) Organised field trips and guided tours to historical defensive sites, forts, and fortifications across the Netherlands, exclusive to members and beneficiaries with capacity limits.
• Terminologie (Terminology Database) Online multilingual A-Z glossary of fortification terminology covering Dutch, English, and German terms with detailed explanations, based on the foundation's 'Terminologie verdedigingswerken' publication.
• Historische Jaarverslagen (Historical Annual Reports Archive) Archive of the foundation's annual reports and yearbooks continuously produced since its founding in 1932, documenting activities and developments in defensive heritage work.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 650 members and donateurs supporting the foundation's activities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alliantie ZuiderwaterliniecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 September 2026Joint organizer of the annual Kennisdag Waterlinies (Knowledge Day Water Lines), now in its fifth edition in 2026. The event brings together multiple Dutch heritage organizations for knowledge sharing and networking around waterline fortifications.
• Vereniging Nederlandse VestingstedencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 September 2026Joint organizer of the Kennisdag Waterlinies alongside other heritage partners. The association represents Dutch fortified cities and collaborates with Menno on events and knowledge sharing.
• GrebbeliniecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 September 2026Joint organizer of the 2026 Kennisdag Waterlinies, hosted at the Grebbelinie Bezoekerscentrum (visitor centre). The Grebbelinie is a Dutch defensive waterline (UNESCO World Heritage candidate) and works with Menno on joint heritage events.
• Hollandse WaterliniescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 September 2026Joint organizer of the Kennisdag Waterlinies. The Hollandse Waterlinies (Dutch Water Lines) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and works with Menno on outreach, education, and preservation of waterline fortifications.
• Platte Grond (podcast)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 May 2023Menno collaborated with the Platte Grond podcast to produce a programme about the Cold War, published on 23 May 2023. This represents a media partnership to raise public awareness of Dutch Cold War heritage.
• Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation works closely with the RCE (Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency) on inventorying and documenting Cold War heritage in the Netherlands. The RCE launched a research programme on Cold War heritage and Menno's Werkgroep Koude Oorlog collaborates directly with RCE experts. The foundation also contributed to the RCE publication 'Trouwe bondgenoot met Hollanditis' (February 2023) about Dutch Cold War civil-military defence.
• Nederlands Instituut Militaire Historie (NIMH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced on the Werkgroep Tweede Wereldoorlog page as a source and knowledge partner for military historical information, alongside the GIS-kaart Atlantikwall resources.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Stichting Fort bij Acht-Hoek: Smaller Dutch foundation focused on a single fort in the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie. Comparable in volunteer-driven defensive-heritage preservation but narrower in scope, operating in Menno's domain and partnering with similar regional heritage organizations.

Regional players

• Fortress Study Group (UK): UK-based international membership organization for the study of fortification, closely analogous to Menno in mission and member-supported research/publication model, but focused on global fortifications with English-language publications and a non-Dutch audience.
• Erfgoed Gelderland: Provincial heritage organization for Gelderland covering monuments, landscapes, and historical structures including defensive works. Comparable as a Dutch heritage organization that touches on fortifications, but with a broader cultural-heritage mandate and provincial rather than national focus.

Others

• Stichting Menno van Coehoorn — Lex Tempelman collectie: Not a separate organization but listed for completeness: the Lex Tempelman collection of military-historical drawings housed by Menno is itself a comparable archival/curatorial asset within the Dutch heritage ecosystem, used by researchers in the same community.

Direct peers

• Stichting Grebbelinie: Foundation dedicated to the Grebbelinie, a Dutch defensive line and UNESCO World Heritage candidate. Comparable as a single-line heritage foundation with similar volunteer-driven documentation, public outreach, and visitor-centre operations, and a co-organizer of Menno's Kennisdag Waterlinies.
• Stichting Hollandse Waterlinies: Foundation managing the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Dutch Water Line. Comparable because it is a Dutch heritage nonprofit dedicated to a subset of the same defensive works (waterline fortifications) and is a core partner of Menno, sharing audiences, events, and preservation goals.
• Alliantie Zuiderwaterlinie: Alliance of municipalities and organizations preserving the Zuiderwaterlinie, a major Dutch defensive line. Directly comparable as a heritage alliance in the same defensive-works domain, co-organizing Kennisdag Waterlinies with Menno and addressing overlapping members and researchers.
• Vereniging Nederlandse Vestingsteden: Dutch association of fortified cities focused on the preservation, presentation, and promotion of Dutch fortification heritage. Directly comparable to Menno because it operates in the same Dutch defensive-heritage niche, collaborates with Menno on Kennisdag Waterlinies, and serves overlapping enthusiast and professional audiences.

Broad incumbents

• Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE): Dutch national cultural-heritage agency responsible for inventorying and protecting monuments, including military heritage. Comparable as a much larger incumbent in the same heritage space, collaborating with Menno on Cold War research but operating with a broader mandate and significantly greater resources.
• Nederlands Instituut Militaire Historie (NIMH): Dutch Institute for Military History, the national knowledge center for Dutch military history. Comparable because it collects, researches, and disseminates Dutch military historical knowledge — including defensive works — and is referenced as a partner by Menno, but with a broader military-history scope and government backing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StMennoCoehoorn
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC9vnBwf0mLUpIbUdxp59pag
• Facebookfacebook.com/StichtingMennoVanCoehoorn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stichting-menno-van-coehoorn
• Instagraminstagram.com/stmennocoehoorn

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stichting Menno van Coehoorn