Zuiderzee Works

The Zuiderzee Works (Dutch: Zuiderzeewerken) are a man-made system of dams, land reclamation and water drainage works, and the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the damming off of the Zuiderzee, a large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, and the reclamation of land in the newly enclosed water body by means of polders. Its main purpose was to improve flood protection and create additional land for agriculture.

Related Topics:
Dutch - Dam - Land reclamation - Hydraulic engineering - Netherlands - Twentieth century - Zuiderzee - North Sea - Polder

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Original plans for the works date back to the seventeenth century, but it was not until 1913, when Cornelis Lely became minister of transport, that official planning started. The single biggest structure in the project was a 32 km long dam, the Afsluitdijk, protecting the Dutch from the North Sea. But to test the waters the small Amsteldiepdijk was built first, construction of which lasted four years and proved to be a valuable learning experience for the much larger Afsluitdijk. When the Afsluitdijk was finished in 1932, the Zuiderzee was completely dammed off and from then on would be called lake IJsselmeer. Total cost of the dam was equivalent to 710 million (2004) US dollars.

Related Topics:
1913 - Cornelis Lely - Km - Afsluitdijk - North Sea - 1932 - Zuiderzee - IJsselmeer - US dollar

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After damming off the sea, the next step involved creating new land, new polders. This was achieved by damming off pieces of the IJsselmeer, and then pumping all the water out. The first polder Wieringermeer was closed in 1929 and fully drained in 1930. The third, the Noordoostpolder, was not fully drained until 1942 and played a vital role for the Dutch Underground resistance during World War II, as the fresh polder offered numerous hiding places. After the war, work was started on draining the Flevolands, a massive project totalling almost 1000 km². This area is now home to Almere, which is the fastest growing city in the Netherlands (partially because of its proximity to Amsterdam). Another large polder was planned in the Markermeer, creation of which was and still is heavily debated, as the Markermeer is an important ecological and recreational asset. A new province was created out of the Noordoostpolder and the Flevolands in 1986, thereby completing the Works.

Related Topics:
Pump - Wieringermeer - 1929 - 1930 - Noordoostpolder - 1942 - Underground resistance - World War II - Almere - Amsterdam - Markermeer - Ecological - Recreation - 1986

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