Stopped land acquisitions and Zuiderzee works at Wadden Sea

The Zuiderzee Works were a project that closed off the Zuiderzee to create the IJsselmeer and partially reclaimed the land. They are among the largest hydraulic engineering projects ever completed. Work lasted for 75 years. From the publication of Cornelis Lely's plan in 1891 to the completion of the dike Enkhuizen – Lelystad in 1975, the works took more than three-quarters of a century. As early as the end of the Middle Ages, the technique of using windmills to drain the land was available. As technology progressed, it became possible to drain increasingly larger areas. The Beemster became the most famous example. In the 19th century, there was Lely's plan to use good clay soils that lay under the Zuiderzee as agricultural land. The less fertile sandy soils, which mainly occur in the middle of the Zuiderzee, were spared. The flood disaster of 1916 was the last straw that led to the passing of the law and initiated the project. The result is now visible in the spectacular Afsluitdijk and the vast land reclamation areas of the polders around the IJsselmeer, such as Flevoland.

Pieter Erauw