Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: polder

The “Beemster” is the first so called polder in the Netherlands that was reclaimed from a lake by using windmills. The “Beemster Polder” was created during the period 1609 - 1612. The clay of the polder turned out to be very fertile for growing tulips and nowadays it is one of the newest areas where one can see vast bulb fields during springtime.

Schokland - the first UNESCO world heritage site in the Netherlands - is an island in the polder landscape of the Noordoostpolder. The island is 4 kilometres long and 300-500 metres wide. In the past Schokland was located in the middle of the former Zuiderzee, which washed away large parts of the island during storms. People lived there - from prehistoric times and the Middle Ages until modern times - in spite of the threatening water and the poverty. Until around 1450, Schokland was not, in fact, an island but a swampy peatland with a few dry hills here and there. The whole area around Schokland was probably prepared for agriculture even before the 14th century. When the rising water washed away large pieces of the peatland, it became a peninsula. Schokland only became a real island when the (former) Zuiderzee swallowed up the last piece. People were already living on Schokland 12.000 years ago. They lived there as hunter-gatherers and fishermen. During the Middle Ages there were mainly farmers here who kept cattle and grew cereal crops. From the 12th century inhabitants lived on terpen (man-made mounds). At high tide or during a storm tide these hills were the only safe places on the island. During the 17th century, agriculture declined because of the loss of land to the sea. Trade, shipping and fishing became more and more important. In 1859, the islanders lost their battle against the water for good. The Dutch government decided that the inhabitants had to leave the island. Not only because of the continuing danger of floods, but also because of the poverty. Around 635 Schokkers moved to the mainland. Schokland remained in existence, but in 1942 - following the reclamation of the Noordoostpolder - it became an island on dry land. The Waterstaatskerk (also called Enserkerk ) was built in 1834 by the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, as a replacement for a small square church that had stood on this site until that time. This square building was so badly damaged by a storm in 1825 that it had to be demolished. The church served until the evacuation of Schokland. After that, it was used as a warehouse and sleeping place for seasonal workers. Nowadays this church - a national monument - is part of the Museum Schokland and is also used for weddings and classical concerts.

The Oudorperhout is the oldest polder in the Netherlands. The area of 42 hectares is bordered by the centuries-old cobbled road "Munnikenweg" and the “Hoornse Vaart” with its windmills . After the village of Oudorp was merged with the city of Alkmaar, part of the polder remained open and developed into a unique meadow landscape with many birds, ponds, ditches, reed beds and unique plants. In the Oudorperhout the remains of two castles built in 1290 are visible: “Nieuwburg” and “Middelburg”.

The ‘Beemster’ is the first so called polder in the Netherlands that was reclaimed from a lake by using windmills. The ‘Beemster Polder’ was created during the period 1609 - 1612. The clay of the polder turned out to be very fertile for growing tulips and nowadays it is one of the newest areas in the Netherlands where one can see vast bulb fields during springtime.

Dutch polder landscape in the Alblasserwaard with a couple of windmills. Picture taken along the Tiendweg nearby Streefkerk.

Five of the nineteen windmills in the so called Nederwaard. The famous mills at Kinderdijk were built between 1738 and 1740, to keep water out of the polder. It is the largest concentration of windmills in the Netherlands.

Ice skating along the windmills of Kinderdijk during a real Dutch winter. (picture taken with a Rollei Prego 90 > scanned)

Hedwigepolder, or officially Hertogin Hedwige Polder. The name refers to Hedwige de Ligne, Duchess of Arenberg, wife of Engelbert IX Duke of Arenberg. The streets in the polder bear the names of the Duke and Duchess and their three children. Hedwigepolder is located on the border between the Netherlands and Belgium, just south of the harbours of Antwerp. The area became a polder already before the Eighty Years' War. During this war, in 1584, Dutch soldiers inundated for strategic reasons the area. In the 17th century diking restarted and in 1907 the Hedwigepolder was the last territory, which was reclaimed from the sea in the eastern corner of the Dutch province of Zeeland. Although there was (and is) a lot of protest the Hedwigepolder, an area of fertile farmland, soon will be returned to the sea, being part of an agreement between Belgium and the Netherlands to compensate for land, lost through the deepening of the River Scheldt, a waterway connecting the port of Antwerp to the North Sea. It becomes (again) part of the so called ‘Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe’ (The Drowned Land of Saeftinghe). Picture: the poplar lined Engelbertstraat. More info ‘Verdronken Land van Saeftinghe’: saeftinghe.eu/en

Schokland - a UNESCO world heritage site - with the church of the island, seen from the polder with lots of common dandelions.

The famous windmills of Kinderdijk on a rainy morning.