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

The Wimmenummerduinen (Dunes of Wimmenum) are located between the coastal villages of Egmond aan Zee and Bergen aan Zee. The inhabitants of Egmond aan Zee - so called “derpers” (villagers) - still call the dune area Duinen van Six . In 1679, Jan Six - a regent and writer descended from a wealthy family - bought the area around the village of Wimmenum. Six belonged to the in-crowd of Amsterdam and is friends with Rembrandt van Rijn. A portrait the painter painted of him is world-famous today. The dune area was the family's fenced-off hunting domain until it was sold to the of provincial water supply company of the province of North Holland (PWN) in 1992.This company has opened the site to visitors. The Wimmenummerduinen are characterized by an open dune landscape with several dune lakes, wet valleys and drifting dune tops. Large pieces of dune have been blown away here and there in the foredune (main picture). Horses graze the dunes here to keep the landscape open. It is considered one of the most beautiful stretches of untouched dunes in the province of North Holland. During our 2024 visit, we were surprised by the large number of dune valleys filled with water. As far as I understand, this is caused by the high groundwater level due to the heavy rainfall in the preceding months.

The Wimmenummerduinen (Dunes of Wimmenum) are located between the coastal villages of Egmond aan Zee and Bergen aan Zee. The inhabitants of Egmond aan Zee - so called “derpers” (villagers) - still call the dune area Duinen van Six . In 1679, Jan Six - a regent and writer descended from a wealthy family - bought the area around the village of Wimmenum. Six belonged to the in-crowd of Amsterdam and is friends with Rembrandt van Rijn. A portrait the painter painted of him is world-famous today. The dune area was the family's fenced-off hunting domain until it was sold to the of provincial water supply company of the province of North Holland (PWN) in 1992.This company has opened the site to visitors. The Wimmenummerduinen are characterized by an open dune landscape with several dune lakes, wet valleys and drifting dune tops. Large pieces of dune have been blown away here and there in the foredune (main picture). Horses graze the dunes here to keep the landscape open. It is considered one of the most beautiful stretches of untouched dune in the province of North Holland. Immediately north of Egmond aan Zee are the so-called duinlandjes (dune lands) - a kind of allotment gardens. These originated around the year 1850, when villagers started growing potatoes in dune valleys. In the past, these fields also existed around other fishing villages, but nowadays they only can be found in Egmond. (PiP5).

The Noordhollands Duinreservaat (North Holland Dune Reserve) is with its 5.300 hectare one of the largest natural areas in the Netherland. This reserve is managed by PWN (Water Supply Company North Holland) is used for drinking water production at three locations. The Buizerdvlak lies north of Bergen aan Zee and is known for the impressive drifting dune that dominates the landscape. It is fascinating to see how the drifting sand slowly 'walks' to the east (between 3 and 5 meters per year) and covers all shrubs and conifers in the way under a layer of sand. (PiP3 shows the dune almost nine years ago; it is clear to see how much the dune has moved)

Vlieland is one of the Dutch Waddeneilanden (West Frisian Islands). The (car-free) island is known for its beautiful beaches. The wide beach on the North Sea is one of the most beautiful and cleanest in the Netherlands. On the west side of the beach (at the end of the Reddingbootpad ), there is a 'nursery' of new dunes (PiP5). The beach of Vlieland is about 15 kilometres long and 150 metres wide on average. It has only two beach pavilions (PiP4).

The village of Petten has been existing since 1300 and was originally called Petten bi der Sipe . During a storm in 1625 no less than a hundred houses were destroyed. The village disappeared completely into the sea in 1792. From the 18th century onwards, Petten was gradually relocated. Petten's past and the struggle against the sea is emphasized by the Palendorp (Pole Village). This monument and work of art was placed in 2016. The 160 poles - six and twelve meters high - form the silhouette of a former church and ten houses. It was a gift of the contractors who carried out the project Kust op Kracht .

In the Middle Ages were dunes on the spot of the Hondsbossche and Pettemer Zeewering . Large storms such as the All Saints' Flood in 1570 swept away these dunes and the North Sea was only stopped by dikes. The impressive sea dike, protecting the villages of Petten and Camperduin, was designated in 2002 as one of the eight weak points of the Dutch coast. It was decided not to further raise the existing dike, but to opt for a solution with 'sand': Kust op Kracht (Coast on Strength). March 2014 the project started to create a beach and dune area on the seaside of the dike, stretching over eight kilometers between Petten and Camperduin and 300 meters wide. Approximately 35 million cubic meters of sand was used for this new piece of land of about 400 soccer fields. The newly created dune area was given the name Hondsbossche Duinen . This approach resulted in a new recreation area and artificial dune landscape with a wide beach, cycling and walking paths, but also a new area for birds with a wet dune valley lake. Near Petten is a panorama dune (26 meters high) - www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/48526386 - where one has a beautiful view over this new part of the Netherlands.

About 15.000 years ago the Netherlands and the UK were connected by a land mass. The arctic ice stretched out into Germany and Scotland. When temperatures started to rise, the ice receded and the meltwater caused the rise of the sea levels. The residents of the low-lying regions started to move to higher locations. About 1.000 years ago people started to build dikes to protect their land against the sea. Nowadays nearly half of the Netherlands lies below sea level and is protected by 14.000 kilometers of dikes. One of the most impressive dikes in the Netherlands is the Hondsbossche en Pettemer Zeewering . The name of this sea wall appears in records for the first time around 1350. The first dike was made entirely of sand. In 1873 the Hondsbossche en Pettemer Zeewering became the dike as it stands today with heavy basalt blocks on the sea-facing side. On 1 February 1953 the Netherlands was hit by a devastating flooding. Large parts of the western provinces of the country were flooded and more than 1.800 people drowned during these floods. The Dutch government decided the so called ‘Deltaplan’, to create coastal reinforcements. Due to this plan the Hondsbossche en Pettemer Zeewering was raised till a height of 11,5 meters above NAP (Amsterdam Ordnance Datum). The climate is changing and sea levels are still rising. That means that several weak spots in the Dutch coastline had/have to be reinforced again. Hondsbossche en Pettemer Zeewering was one of these weak links. The authorities decided to use a new method for the reinforcement: Zand tegen Zee (Sand versus Sea). The dike itself was not raised, but instead March 2014 started the project to create a beach and dune area in front of the dike, stretching over eight kilometers between Petten and Camperduin and 250 meters wide. Approximately 35 million cubic meters of sand was used for this new piece of land of about 400 soccer fields. This approach resulted in a new recreation area with a new beach, cycling and walking paths, but also a new area for birds with a dune lake (PiP 3). The main picture and PiP 2 were taken from a newly created panorama dune (PiP 1) with a height of 26 meters near Petten.

The ‘Noordhollands Duinreservaat’ (North Holland Dune Reserve) is with its 5.300 hectare one of the largest natural areas in the Netherland. This reserve is managed by PWN (Water Supply Company North Holland) is used for drinking water production at three locations. The ‘Duinreservaat’ stretches from Bergen aan Zee till Wijk aan Zee. It offers dunes, some of them with white sand (main picture and PiP1), large pine and oak forests (PiP2) and in the summer blooming heather (PiP3). The area is open to the public (walker and cyclist), however an admission ticket is needed.

White topped dunes in the ‘Noordhollands Duinreservaat’ (North-Holland Dune Reserve). This reserve is controlled by the provincial water company and stretches from Bergen aan Zee till the North Sea Canal, nearby Wijk aan Zee. The area is open to the public (walker and cyclist), however an admission ticket is needed. The photo is taken along the Verspijckweg (a bike lane through the dunes) just north of the village of Bergen aan Zee. PiP the same area with blooming heather in August.

Beach huts on the beach in Camperduin. Beach and dunes were developed by means of sand supplementation in front of the Hondsbossche Zeewering (Hondsbossche Sea Defence) in order to increase the safety. The 5.5 kilometers long dike was expanded in the year of 2015 with a beach and dune strip with the size of more than 400 football fields.