The Noordoostpolder was the first part of present-day Flevoland to be drained. Lessons were learned here that came in handy during later reclamation. Hence, for example, the Noordoostpolder lies right next to Overijssel and Friesland, while the rest of Flevoland is surrounded by lakes. This facilitated drainage. A case of 'one learns by doing'. Take a look at a map and see for yourself.
The story about the water heritage of the Noordoostpolder is a story about dykes, pumping stations and sluices. But also about agriculture, hydrological research and an island on dry land. We are proud of the unique genesis of the Noordoostpolder. We would like to share this pride with you via this blog and invite you to come and admire our special water heritage with your own eyes.
The dike surrounding the Noordoostpolder der consists of two parts: from the Frisian town of Lemmer to Urk and from Urk to Blokzijl in the province of Overijssel. Of course, the previously inhabited and very industrious fishing island of Urk was already above the water and did not need a new piece of dike. The first dyke, the Noordermeerdijk, was closed on 3 October 1939, when people lowered large mats of woven willow branches into it near present-day Espel, which were weighted down with stones, which were then topped up with clay and sand.
As this was a momentous occasion, the mayor of Lemmer and the mayor of Urk came to attend this joyous occasion and, standing on a wooden plank hastily laid over the closing hole, they shook hands. You can admire this moment with your own eyes even now, if you look through the see-through panel Sluitgat from the right distance and angle. This is because the drawing of the mayors shaking hands is projected onto the approximate spot where it happened in real life so many years ago.
More than a year and two months later, on 13 December 1940, the closing hole of the Zuidermeer dyke, near present-day Schokkerhaven, was filled in the same way. No see-through panel can be found here today, but both closure holes do feature a closure hole monument: on top of the dike stands a large grab bin, which was used when the closure hole was closed. At the foot of the dike is a maquette showing the contours of the Noordoostpolder in the making. This shows the map of the dike, including the closure holes at Espel and Nagele.
Tip: Take a walk with audio tour along Sluitgatmonument Nagele
After the closure of the second trench near Nagele, some 54 kilometres of dike surrounded the area to be reclaimed and the pumping stations could start pumping out the new polder, which was done by Gemaal Buma in Rutten, Gemaal Smeenge in Kraggenburg and Gemaal Vissering in Urk. Together, they pumped out some 1,500 million cubic metres of water during the reclamation.
The Noordoostpolder lies up to five metres below sea level. It is shaped like a bathtub: on the edges near Friesland and Overijssel, the area is 1 metre below NAP, on the western side, near the IJsselmeer, up to 5 metres below NAP. The pumping stations that had initially drained the polder are still used to manage water levels in the Noordoostpolder .
By the way, the village of Tollebeek is the lowest point in the Noordoostpolderder. This is also where the water level is the lowest, at 6.20 metres below NAP. The Steven Rippen pumping station is one of the instruments that regulates that the water level remains good here too. Like every polder, the Noordoostpolder also has a system of canals to manage the water level and for shipping.
In the dykes of the Noordoostpolder , next to each of the three pumping stations, there is a sluice for sailing in and out of the polder. This is mainly used by pleasure boats these days. These are the Frisian Lock (next to Buma pumping station), the Voorsters Lock (next to Smeenge pumping station) and the Urkers Lock (next to Vissering pumping station). These locks allow shipping to overcome a height difference of between 5 and 6 metres. Come sail on the Lemstervaart, Zwolse Vaart or Urkervaart canals and take a closer look at our pumping stations and locks as you sail in or out of the polder.
Come and see our locks and canals from the water
In the early years of the Noordoostpolder , the (freight) car was not nearly as common a means of transport as it is now, and the agricultural harvest was still transported by ship. Back then, agricultural cooperatives were responsible for transporting products such as sugar beet and grain. Those cooperatives provided weighbridges and a transhipment crane or beet bridges near the specially constructed unloading ramps in the side canals connecting all the villages to the three main canals of the Noordoostpolder .
Transfer cranes hoisted nets of beets from the farmer's cart into the ship, or later, when the harvest was transported in small trucks with dump trucks, the cargo could be tipped straight from the shore into the hold of the cargo ship. Until the mid-1960s, the side canals and thus the unloading quays were mainly used for the supply and removal of bulk products such as fertilisers, grain and sugar beet.
Four beet bridges have been preserved in the Noordoostpolder der: in Marknesse, Emmeloord, Kraggenbrug and at Ramspol, just outside Ens. At the Ens sugar beet bridge, a see-through panel gives an insight into how unloading the harvest used to be done in a cargo ship. The transparent panel shows a cargo ship in the water, while a tipper unloads a load of beet from the unloading wharf. If you look through the see-through panel at the right distance and angle, you can see the cargo ship projected onto the waterway and it looks as if the former tipper truck is standing exactly on today's unloading quay. An extraordinary sight!
One part of our water heritage that you should definitely have seen once is Schokland. Imagine living on this very narrow island in the raging Zuiderzee and being flooded at every turn. And that at one point it even got so bad that the government decided to forcefully evacuate the entire island. Where were you supposed to go? And could you even settle there? The temporary exhibition 'Schokkers and the eviction' in Museum Schokland vividly portrays this.
Another special feature is that this abandoned island was suddenly no longer an island, but was enclosed by the new Noordoostpolder. Just like Urk, incidentally, which was also suddenly no longer an island. The difference: Urk was still inhabited and remained an independent municipality, while Schokland may have received its own postcode area, but still became part of the Noordoostpolder.
You can still see from everything that Schokland used to be an island. For instance, it consists of raised mounds and residential mounds, which had to protect the buildings from flooding, and remnants of the harbour can still be found. Even the island contours rise above the surrounding landscape. Today, Schokland is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a unique example of the Netherlands' ongoing struggle against water.
By the way, the permanent exhibition of Museum Schokland shows that the history of this area goes back much further than the inhabitation of the island of Schokland. There are finds from prehistoric times, such as pottery, skeletons and plough tracks. Human footprints over 4,000 years old have even been found. And if you want to see boulders from the ice age, you should visit De Gesteentetuin, just down the road. There you will take a journey through time, starting as much as 200,000 years ago.
See what there is to see and do on Schokland
A much more recent development that has definitely earned its place in our water heritage is the hydrological research in the Waterloopbos. Large-scale physical models of hydraulic engineering projects were built in this forest between 1950 and 1996. The Hydraulic Laboratory used the forest to test projects and optimise designs such as harbours, locks and dykes.
Modern hydraulic engineering is done largely with computer calculations and simulations, making the forest a special reminder of an earlier phase in science. And anyone who knows that the Netherlands has a big name worldwide in water management will understand that the research in the Waterloop forest has a unique historical and technical significance for the Netherlands and for global hydraulic engineering.
Apart from appreciating the technical side of hydrological research, a walk through the Waterloopbos is simply a unique experience. Nowhere else in the world will you find a forest full of scale models of waterworks that are slowly being overgrown by nature and becoming more and more part of the forest. This special mix of cultural and natural heritage is unique in the world and well worth exploring.
Two final elements in the landscape of the Noordoostpolder clearly show that there used to be water here. In the Kuinderbos and still just on the polder side of the provincial border with Overijssel is the Old Harbour of Kuinre. This Kuinre used to be a thriving harbour town, but after the new polder was built right against the old land, it lost its function and the harbour was suddenly surrounded by land. Fortunately, however, the harbour has been restored to its former state, making it a very tangible part of our water heritage.
The same applies to Oud-Kraggenburg, a former (peninsular) island in the Zuiderzee, with a lighthouse and lighthouse keeper's house on it. Of course, these are of no use at all these days, as cyclists do not navigate by the light of a lighthouse. But especially for cyclists, Oud-Kraggenburg is a beautiful beacon in daylight, rising like a mound above the rest of the landscape. You can't miss it when taking a bike ride through the south-eastern part of the Noordoostpolder.
Oud-Kraggenburg now has monument status and is even such a striking element in our landscape and water heritage that a vista panel has been dedicated to it, showing how Oud-Kraggenburg used to be surrounded by water and where you can read all about the history of this unique location.
Cycle past various beacons in the new and old country
Almost everything to do with water, from our pumping stations and locks to former island Schokland and the watercourse research in the Waterloopbos, has largely shaped the Noordoostpolder der into what it is today. No wonder we would love to introduce you to our water heritage and all that is still visible in the landscape. Come along and discover for yourself how human ingenuity won land from water and made water work for them. The Noordoostpolder will surprise and inspire you.
