[buffyt]

Dutch painters - Dutch Art - Rembrandt - van Gogh - Jan Steen - Frans Hals - Vermeer Sights of Holland - Water management - Delft blue - Saint nicholas - Tulips Accomodations - hotels - camping - holiday homes - map of holland

Water Management | Windmills | Recovery of land | The flooding | Delta Works | Schelde | Neeltje Jans | Recovery of land in the 20th century After a raging storm in 1916 old plans of draining the Zuider Zee came into action. Before the government had thought the project to be to extensive, but after the storm and with the increasing shortage of good agricultural land in times of war, they decided it was time. The building of the Barrier Dam started in 1923. The 30 kilometer long dam was made of boulders and clay, the spaces in between were filled with sand, stones and brushwood. On the final day of construction the tide turned and the Ijsselmeer, a freshwater lake, was created. The dam also got sluices for draining excess water and locks for maintaining shipping. After the dam was built, the draining began. Four enormous polders were drained in the IJsselmeer and the result was 165,000 ha of new land. The Wieringermeer Polder and the Noordoost Polder are beeing used for agriculture, Zuidelijk Flevoland for housing, employment and recreation and Ostelijk Flevoland is a mix of both. Lelystad is the capital of the newest province of the Netherlands, Flevoland. These new areas became very popular for farmers looking for a place to start with modern, mechanized farming methods.

[Argus]

Thanks, very interesting.