The Zuiderzee Works () is a system of dams and dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, which was the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the damming of the Zuiderzee, a large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, and the reclamation of land in the newly enclosed water using polders. Its main purposes are to improve flood protection and create additional land for agriculture.

The enormous scale of the works required the creation of a joint venture company comprising several large dredging contractors, known as the Maatschappij tot Uitvoering van Zuiderzeewerken. The American Society of Civil Engineers declared the works, together with the Delta Works in the South-West of the Netherlands, as among the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

alt=|thumb|Sentinel-2 photo of the IJsselmeer and surroundings.

right|thumb|The 32&nbsp;km [[Afsluitdijk separates the IJsselmeer (right) from the Wadden Sea (left), protecting thousands of km<sup>2</sup> of land.]]

Background

The Low Countries have low flat topography, with half the land area below or less than above sea level, and have for centuries been subject to periodic flooding by the sea. The seventeenth century saw early proposals to tame and enclose the Zuiderzee, but the ambitious ideas were impractical given the technology then available.

right|thumb|upright|Statue of [[Cornelis Lely on the Afsluitdijk]]

From 1200 to 1900 AD the Dutch reclaimed of land from the sea and by draining lakes, a total of , but lost of land to the Zuiderzee. Hendrik Stevin in 1667 was the first to publish a study ("How the Fury of the North Sea may be stopped and Holland may be protected against it") proposing to drain the Zuiderzee. After the IJ and Haarlemmermeer were drained in the mid-19th century, van Diggelen, Kloppenburg, and Faddegon proposed that the Zuiderzee also be drained. Test drilling by the ' found that about three quarters of the Zuiderzee would be useful land. Plans were developed during the second half of the nineteenth century to protect areas from the force of the open sea and creating new agricultural land. Cornelis Lely (after whom Lelystad is named) was an ardent supporter, an engineer, and later government minister. A group called the "Zuider Zee Society" began a thorough investigation as to the best means of closing and draining the Zuider Zee in 1886, and in 1891 Lely introduced his plan, which formed the basis for the development of what were to become the Zuiderzee Works. It consisted of a large dam connecting the northern tip of North Holland with the western coast of Friesland and the creation of initially four polders in the northwest, the northeast, southeast (later split in two), and southwest of what would be renamed the IJsselmeer (IJssel-lake). Two major lanes of open water were defined for shipping and drainage. The initial body of water affected by the project was . Opposition came from fishermen along the Zuiderzee who would lose their livelihood, and from others in coastal areas along the more northerly Wadden Sea. They feared higher water levels as a result of the closure. Other critics doubted whether the project was feasible financially.

Queen Wilhelmina's speech from the throne in 1913, urged reclamation of the Zuiderzee, and the requisite bill was introduced.

The goals of the Act were threefold:

  • Protect the central Netherlands from the effects of the North Sea;
  • Increase the Dutch food supply by development and cultivation of new agricultural land; and
  • Improve water management by creating a freshwater lake from the former uncontrolled salt water inlet.

Unlike earlier proposals the act intended to preserve part of the Zuiderzee and create large islands, as Lely warned that rerouting the rivers directly to the North Sea might cause inland flooding if storms raised the sea's level. He also wanted to preserve the Zee's fisheries, and for the new land to be accessible by water. The Dienst der Zuiderzeewerken (Zuiderzee Works Department), the government body responsible for overseeing the construction and initial management, was set up in May 1919. In the initial stages of the work heavy clay was dredged out of the open sea and deposited along the track to be followed by the dam. The cost of the undertaking was calculated in 1914, in UK currency, at about £19,000,000 but it soon seemed likely to be very much more. At the time, ten years were allowed for the construction of the main dam and another 20 years for the completion of the four inner enclosures. a group of islands designed to establish nature reserves in the north of the Markermeer. Contrary to the Markerwaard, no permanent human occupation is planned, although it will be accessible to tourists and birdwatchers. The creation process started in April 2016 with the first new island being inaugurated on 24 September 2016.

Province of Flevoland

The loss of the Markerwaard did not affect plans to create a new province out of the polders. The older Wieringermeer in the north, long since part of North Holland, would not become a part of it, but the municipalities of the other three and the islands of the Noordoostpolder would together form the 12th province of the Netherlands, called Flevoland. The need for a new province was not immediately clear; Urk and the Noordoostpolder had been part of Overijssel up to that point and Dronten fell under Gelderland. After the new municipalities of Southern Flevoland were established in 1984, belonging to no province as was the case with Lelystad, the provincial issue required renewed attention. With only six municipalities and without the Markerwaard, the area was considered by opponents to be insufficiently populous and developed for an entire province, but the polder municipalities were unanimous in their desire: on 1 January 1986, the province of Flevoland was inaugurated. With a population of 356,400 (2004) it was the least populous province, but the province of Zeeland had only 378,300 and Flevoland has a higher population density than four other provinces. By 2015, Flevoland had surpassed Zeeland in population (403,380, compared to 380,620) and had a density of 280 persons per square kilometre.

<gallery class="center">

Image:Plan Kloppenburg en Faggedon.jpg|Plan Kloppenburg en Faggedon<br />(1848)

Image:Plan Van Diggelen.jpg|Plan Van Diggelen<br />(1849)

Image:Plan Beyerinck.jpg|Plan Beyerinck<br /> (1866)

Image:Plan Stieltjes.jpg|Plan Stieltjes<br /> (1870–1873)

Image:Planlely.jpg| Original Plan Lely<br /> (date unknown)

Image:Ontwerp Afsluiting Zuiderzee en Droogmaking Cornelis Lely 1891-1892.jpg|Plan Lely<br /> (1891)

Image:Zuiderzeewerken proposal 1907.jpg|Plan Zuiderzeewerken<br /> (1907)

</gallery>

Criticism

In 1971, the dutch artist Joseph Beuys created the performance-work Bog action in order to criticize the Zuiderzee Works, in particular the draining and exploitation of peatland. For this art work, the artist immersed himself in the water.

See also

  • Delta Works for another major waterworks project in the Netherlands.
  • Lauwerszee Works
  • Flood control in the Netherlands
  • Flood
  • Zuiderzeemuseum

References

  • Nieuw Land Poldermuseum&nbsp;– A Flevoland museum on the Zuiderzee Works and Dutch water management in general.
  • The Zuiderzee Museum&nbsp;– Dedicated to the history and culture of the former Zuiderzee.
  • Directorate IJsselmeer Region&nbsp;– The administration responsible for maintaining most of the Zuiderzee Works.
  • Zuiderzee Cycle Route , long-distance cycle route around the former Zuiderzee.