Goilberdingerwaard

In this bend of the river Lek, there is a beautiful floodplain area. Here, the river has been given space. You will find extensive bodies of water with reed beds, flower-rich hay meadows, and solitary hawthorn. It is a rich bird area with an interesting history.

The floodplains have grown into a water-rich nature area with meadows and flower-rich grassland in the higher parts. The area is grazed to prevent it from becoming overgrown with willow trees. Along the water bodies, reed beds grow. This is the habitat of endangered bird species such as the bittern, the egrets, and the little bittern. The influence of the river is noticeable everywhere; the varying water levels bring a lot of dynamics to the area.

The floodplains are part of the historic New Dutch Waterline. They could be flooded together with the surrounding polders in the event of war threats. The water served as a defensive belt for the west of the country. Fort Everdingen and the smaller fort 'Werk aan het Spoel' were also part of the line, which was in use until 1963.

The prominent ditches and water bodies in the floodplain near Fort Everdingen are reminders of that time. In this kind of system of ditches and ridges, enemy vehicles would get stuck and become easy targets for the artillery at the forts. During the dike reinforcement projects in the period 1997-2002, these fortifications were made visible again in the landscape.

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