Lemmer, Rutten, Creil

The closure of the Zuiderzee and the reclamation of the Noordoostpolder is one of the Netherlands' most famous infrastructure works. It is partly to thank for the Netherlands' worldwide reputation in water management engineering.
From the end of the 19th century, plans were developed to reclaim parts of the Zuiderzee in order to have more agricultural land. Over the centuries, the Netherlands had already gained a lot of experience with impoldering wetlands, such as the Haarlemmermeer. Land on the Wadden coast of Friesland and Groningen had also been conquered from the sea.

In 1886, the Zuiderzee Association was founded. With lobbying work and technical studies, this association wanted to convince politicians and the public that the Zuiderzee could be impoldered. The then 32-year-old engineer Cornelis Lely, who worked at the Ministry of Water Management, became active in the association immediately in 1886. Lely himself became Minister of Water Management in 1891 and also had a plan ready for reclamation by then. But he could not convince his fellow ministers and parliament of the usefulness of the massive investment. That changed after 1916, during a period when he was minister for the third time. In that year, a huge flood disaster occurred on the night of 13-14 January. Dozens of dykes along the Zuiderzee broke, flooding parts of North Holland, Friesland, Overijssel, Gelderland and Utrecht. North Holland was hit especially hard, with 21 people drowning there.

In 1918, the Zuiderzee Act was passed, which provided for a barrier between the Zuiderzee and the North Sea, and the reclamation of large parts of the Zuiderzee. In 1927, construction of the 32-kilometre-long Afsluitdijk began and was completed in 1932. From then on, the Zuiderzee became the IJsselmeer.
The reclamation of the Northeast Polder could then begin. Between 1936 and 1942, the 54-kilometre-long dyke was constructed, which still protects the area from the water of the IJsselmeer today. Three pumping stations were then built to pump all the water out of the area into the IJsselmeer. These pumping stations still function today, because the area is a 'bathtub' that lies 5 metres below sea level. This bathtub can fill up with rainwater, seepage water (which seeps under the dykes) and groundwater that still rises.

The Northeast Polder is still an area as it was meant to be: a fertile polder very suitable for agriculture. But in recent decades it has also proved fertile ground for other functions, such as the development of new nature areas and the construction of wind farms.

(There are no catering establishments on this route, possibly you can make a stop in Lemmer, node 50, about 1.5 kilometres from the route).


This Premium cycle route was compiled by our editor: Frans Glissenaar.