The force of a straight line: the Beemster
It remains an amazing adventure; by using wind energy people in the seventeenth century turned lakes into thousands of hectares of land within the space of a few years. People were proud of this technical feat, and this pride was expressed in the design of the landscape. If there is one place where you can experience the poetry of a straight line, it is in the Beemster, the oldest of the reclaimed lands of Noord-Holland. The construction of the dikes and reclaiming of the land was completed in 1612 under Leeghwater's supervision. The lay-out imposed on the empty land was one of straight fields and a perfectly symmetrical grid of roads and canals, as if to emphasise that man was now in charge here. With its strict geometric landscape the Beemster is still a masterpiece of seventeenth century technology and landscaping. This reclaimed land has rightly been put on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites.
The principal village of Middenbeemster was built exactly at the crossroads of two main roads. Its rectangular market square with its tall trees and old blacksmith's shop look exactly as it did a few centuries ago.
You can find more information about Beemster Heritage at the Beemsterinfo information centre in Middenbeemster. Next door is the Westerhem Agricultural Museum.
Reclaimed land
Low-lying Holland consists mainly of polders, reclaimed land that lies beneath sea level. It is only possible to work and live on this land if dikes are built and the water level controlled. In the past this was done using hundreds of windmills. Later, in the 19th century, steam engines took over this job, and nowadays we have computerised, electric pumping-stations. Through a complicated canal system, the excess water is pumped from ditches in the polders and eventually brought to the ocean. The droogmakerij is a special type of polder: this is a polder that is built at the bottom of a lake from which the water has first been drained. Schermer and Beemster are examples of droogmakerijen, as are the modern-day polders in the IJsselmeer, or Lake IJssel.
Pyramids of the North
Even the farms on these new lands fit perfectly into the geometric grid. A perfect square with a characteristic pyramid-shaped roof, which once housed humans, cattle and food supplies. This type of farm is called a 'stolp farmhouse', whereby the word 'stolp' refers to a domed shape.
Dairy farms flourished on the new lands. The Beemster also became the playground for rich city folks. They built their large manor houses and farms with comfortable living rooms. These manor houses with French style gardens all disappeared during the economic depression of the nineteenth century. What remains are the stately farm houses with their often richly decorated 'city-like' gables.
Two world heritage sites, Beemster World Heritage
The windmills in the Beemster have given way to fully automated electric pumping-stations. Even the manor houses and gardens belonging to rich merchants who spent their summers here in the seventeenth century have disappeared. What remains are the characteristic farmhouses, the open spaces and the green, geometric landscape. Because of its unique seventeenth-century landscape, in 1999 the Beemster was placed on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites, side by side with the pyramids of Egypt, the Chinese Wall and the Borobudur Temple.
The Amsterdam Position
In a large area around Amsterdam, there is a ring of fortresses and 'flood fields' (low-lying land which can be inundated in case of a military attack), developed between 1880 and 1920. This area is called 'The Amsterdam Position' (in Dutch: De Stelling van Amsterdam). This site has also been included in UNESCO's world heritage list. In the southwestern corner of Leeghwater Land there are six fortresses which are part of these defence works. The Fortress at Spijkerboor is one of the most well-preserved and most impressive of the 42 fortresses that make up the Amsterdam Position. In 1992 it was bought by the Dutch foundation for Nature Preservation. During the summer season a limited number of tours are given at this site.
©Land van Leeghwater 2005