Elbug

It is hard to imagine that fishing ships once sailed here to and fro. When Flevoland and the Veluwemeer were still the Zuiderzee. Yet in Elburg you can still find much of the once thriving fishing past on the Zuiderzee. That is exactly what we will be looking for today!

From way back, Elburg was a thriving fishing and trading town on the shores of the Zuiderzee. Thanks to the open connection with the North Sea, fishermen could take to the sea with relatively small ships - the famous botters - in search of herring, anchovies and, later, eels. Fishing provided a stable source of income and attracted craftsmen who forged boat fittings, hammered masts and repaired nets. The natural inlet near Elburg offered shelter from heavy weather, while nearby dykes provided extra protection in times of turbulent winds and high waves. Yet even these defences did not always prove sufficient.

Over the centuries, Elburg faced devastating storm surges. Dykes broke, houses were swept away and farmland turned into swampy inland lakes. Time and again, people had to evacuate, livestock drowned and fishing was under pressure as the infrastructure was largely destroyed. The accumulation of such disasters eventually led to the realisation that the Zuiderzee needed to be curbed structurally.

Engineer Cornelis Lely, a member of the Zuiderzeevereeniging founded in 1886, presented his plans to close off the Zuiderzee and (partially) drain it in 1891. Initially, he met fierce opposition, even during the periods when he himself was a minister. Only after the devastating Storm Flood of 1916 and the famine of 1918 did parliament give the green light to his Zuiderzee Act. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk was completed, turning the Zuiderzee into the fresh IJsselmeer. With that, saltwater fishing, which had been the town's lifeline for centuries, disappeared for Elburg.

Despite this drastic change, the rich fishing past is still tangible in Elburg. Fishermen's houses, old fishing boats and museums remind us of the days when the sea was right on our doorstep. The strong connection with the water has therefore not disappeared, but has taken on a new form: the IJsselmeer and the Veluwemeer now offer peace, space and recreation, while the stories about the old Zuiderzee and the once proud fishing fleet are an important part of Elburg's heritage.



This Premium Cycle route was compiled by our editor: Désirée van Uffelen.