Noordoostpolder (NorthEastPolder)

How it all become.

The first step was to make a lake from the former Zuiderzee. (see)

Therefore we build "The afsluitdijk, a 32 km long dike witch connected the North-West of Holland with the North-East.

In 1940 the Dutchess build a dike from Lemmer to Urk, and than to Vollenhove.

A couple of steam-driven pumping stations pumped the water out of this area of 45.000 hectares. A spectacular piece of hydraulic engineering.

They had to pumped till September 1942.

New land was born, an endless desolate plain.

Reclaimed land. Stole back from the see.

Like the say:

God created the world, but the Duchess created Holland.

In our case, it was the engineer prof. Lely, who had made the drawings.

From then on, the island Urk was no island anymore. It became a part of the new polder.

There are still people who're sorry.

Also the former island Schokland, witch was drowned 100 years before,  raised up again from the see. It now became a sort of bump in the flat bottom of the polder.

It was an endless morass containing a forest of reed

Hundreds of pioneers came. They brought their spades and spirits with them.

During the second world war,  the development of the polder began under difficult conditions.

Ironical, it was also a good place to hide. The Germans someway respected the Dutch job.

Till '44.

A razia took place 17th November 1944. Hundreds of men where transported to Germany.

Nevertheless, the work continued.

Nowadays Noordoostpolder is dynamic and affluent.

The capital city of the Noordoostpolder is Emmeloord.

Around the centre city, there are ten smaller city's.
 

And we continued with more polders.

The Noordoostpolder, together with "Noordelijk Flevoland" (Lelystad) and "Zuidelijk Flevoland"  (Almere) became the 12th province of The Netherlands, named Flevoland.

Later plans, continuing making polders (Markerwaard) died because of money and by the growing awareness of the value of the nature.

Noordoostpolder, worth your visit

Further information

The Tourist Information (VVV) Noordoostpolder in Emmeloord, has a lot of information on Noordoostpolder.
They can be contacted by phone number +31 (0)527 61 20 00 or by e-mail emmeloord@vvvflevoland.nl

(Know that the tourist information VVV has nothing to do with me.)