Sun, 8 November 2009
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The famous Afsluitdijk keeps the Ijsselmeer to the right safe from the open sea on the left. But in light of the tragic events in New Orleans, will it be enough to keep the Lowlands dry?The Oosterscheldedam in Zeeland ... the eighth wonder of the world?
A former island in the Netherlands typifies the epic Dutch battle against the rising sea and the ever constant threat of floods — a battle marked by tragic disasters and remarkable victories.
Schokland was a peninsula that became a low-lying island in the Southern Sea (Zuiderzee) in the 15th century. Traces of human habitation date all the way back to prehistoric times but heavy storms and erosion in the 18th and 19th centuries eventually made the island practically uninhabitable for the local fishing community.
The stubborn locals refused to give up though and wanted to continue the battle against the rising tides and regular flooding until King Willem III finally took the decision out of their hands. He issued a royal decree ordering the evacuation of the island in 1859.
The sea held on to its hard-won prize for less than 100 years as the land was reclaimed when the North East Polder (Noordoostpolder) was created on 9 September 1942. Dutch ingenuity of this kind has made polder — which means reclaimed land — an internationally recognised term.
The ambitious project involved the construction of two dikes from the fishing island of Urk back to the mainland. The water in between was then drained to create the new polder, which is now home to almost 45,000 people.
The Ijsselmeer is on the right, the Waddenzee to the left.
A museum was opened on Schokland in 1947 and traces the island's prehistoric and medieval history up to and beyond the reclamation. Schokland was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995.
Here’s a current guide to health insurance, doctors, dentists and pharmacies.
Lost in the Dutch immigration system? Look no further than this guide compiled for our Survival Guide 2009.
Some basic facts and figures about living and working in the Netherlands.
The challenges and benefits of the maternity system in the Netherlands and how it differs to other countries.
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