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4.5 The Dutch Wadden Sea Region

4.5 The Dutch Wadden Sea Region In the preceding chapter, Otto Knottnerus described the most important developments in by Adriaan Haartsen & Dré van Marrewijk the entire Wadden Sea Region, from Esbjerg to Alkmaar. In some respects the Dutch part occu- 4.5.1 Geographical position of the pies a unique position in this larger entity. Before Dutch Wadden Sea Region1 looking at the individual areas which make up the region we would first like to discuss the gen- The Dutch Wadden Sea Region covers the area eral characteristics of the Dutch part of the between the mouth of the and the North Wadden Sea Region. Sea. The current Wadden Sea islands are part of One of the special aspects is the enormous it, as is the former island of . extent of the embanked coastal marshes and the And of course it includes the Wadden Sea itself. peat lands further inland. The Pleistocene subsoil The Wadden Sea is the shallow plain of unem- rises only very gradually (if we disregard the banked salt-marshes, mud flats and , cut boulder clay hummocks of Winschoten, through by channels and gullies, flooded by the and Wieringen) from north-west to south east, water at high tide, with large areas falling dry at so that a broad girdle of peat bog has developed low tide. Furthermore the name ‘Wadden Sea’ is and the marine clay deposits also cover a large fairly recent: formerly the entire area to the surface area. In the German and Danish areas of south of the Wadden Sea islands was called the the region the Pleistocene soils rise more steeply Zuiderzee. The islands formed the boundary and the zone containing marine clay deposits between the and the Zuiderzee. The and peat bog is generally narrower. Zuiderzee was the largest bay in the entire Wad- The Dutch part of the Wadden Sea Region is den Sea Region, and if the had not further distinguished by the fact that permanent been built, the area covered by this report would settlement on dwelling mounds started earlier probably have been far greater, and the entire here than in other parts of the region. Zuiderzee, with the adjoining parts of the main- A third difference is that in the land, would also have been included in this land loss and land gain went hand in hand, study. But things turned out differently: the con- whereas elsewhere the land lost far outweighed struction of the Afsluitdijk removed the southern the gains. Large-scale land reclamation projects part of the Zuiderzee from the influence of the such as the Zijpepolder, the former Middelzee, sea and changed it into a fresh water lake - the the Fivel bay and the Dollard polders, are echoed IJsselmeer - which is no longer necessarily elsewhere on a much more modest scale. regarded as a part of the Wadden Sea Region.2 In the fourth place, the Dutch part of the However, a large area on the mainland is Wadden Sea Region contains a number of spe- regarded as part of the region. It was created cific landscape elements which are not or hard- through the influence of the sea and has had ly found in and , such as 17- important connections with the sea in the th century boat , duck decoys and cut- course of its development. This relates to the old away . The dense network of waterways is maritime polders in en Fryslân, gener- also remarkable. ally referred to as the terpen- en wierdengebied Fifthly the Dutch Wadden Sea Region is char- (dwelling mound district3). In Noord- too, acterized by the development of a number of there is an area with large numbers of dwelling small towns within the region itself. mounds: the western part of Westfriesland, in , , , , the neighborhood of Schagen. As well as these Harlingen, and developed into old residential centers, the more recent polders urban centers. We will not consider the West reclaimed from the sea form an important part Frisian towns of Medemblik, and of the area. here since they are not regarded as These three elements, the islands, the Wadden part of the Wadden Sea Region for the purposes Sea and the mainland, which at first sight are of this report. In the Dutch part there is thus a completely different, are so bound up with each greater variety of settlements than elsewhere in other that they can be regarded as part of a the Wadden Sea Region. greater whole, the landscape of the Wadden Sea Region. This landscape is characterized by the close relationship between man and nature.

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The natural environment land water away towards the Almere and the After the end of the last Ice Age (some 10,000 North Sea. years ago) the level of the North Sea rose by When the first farmers settled in the peatlands around 100 meters. In the current Wadden Sea this had serious consequences for the environ- Region the coastline moved continually south- ment. In order to work the land, they first had to ward and eastward. Because the rise in sea level drain it. Ditches were dug to lower the ground also caused a rise in the level of the fresh water level. Thereafter began the process groundwater, a zone of peat developed parallel referred to as soil subsidence, although ground to the coast. This peat girdle shifted ever higher: level subsidence would be more correct. on the sea side the peat bog or fen was flooded The cultivation of a peatland is inevitably by the rising sea level; on the land side it extend- accompanied by ground level subsidence. The ed over the higher sandy areas. drop in the surface level is caused by settling and Around 5000 BC the Straits of Dover flooded. oxidation. Settling takes place when water flows The currents in the North Sea changed and out of the peat bog as the groundwater table began to run more parallel to the coast. This cre- drops, and thus the volume of the peat bog ated offshore bars, which were divided by later diminishes. This causes the land to sink: the sur- breaches by the sea into smaller pieces, islands. face sinks along with the groundwater, as it Between the bars and the peat lands there arose were. an area with gullies, sandbars and salt-marshes, The rate of ground level subsidence is acceler- into which the sea penetrated twice per day. The ated by oxidation. After drainage the pores in the offshore bars have since remained roughly in peat soil fill with air and the non-decayed plant place. The young dunes which are still a charac- residues are gradually converted by the intake of teristic feature of the Wadden Sea islands today, oxygen into carbon dioxide and water in the began to develop in the Late Middle Ages. drained peat bog. The bog is thus actually very slowly burned. Settling and oxidation can lower Soil and peat subsidence the surface level of a bog by a maximum of The rising sea level at the end of the last Ice Age around two centimeters per year. It is assumed also raised the groundwater table. In a broad that the surface at the higher parts of the peat marginal zone along the coast it became so wet bog islands was previously around 4 meters that swamps were formed. The plant residues in above NAP ( Normal Amsterdam Level ). The sur- the soil did not entirely perish under the influ- face of the peatlands in the Wadden Sea Region ence of the wet environment, so that the layer is around 1.5 meters below NAP. This means that of plant material grew ever thicker. At a certain the surface has dropped by around 5.5 meters point this layer was so thick that the area since it was first taken into use. The speed at became isolated from eutrophic river water. which the process can proceed can be seen in an Then began a long period in which the plants example in England. In 1848 a fen in the East could only obtain the nutrients they needed Anglian peatlands was drained. Some distance from rainwater. Few plants can survive under away a post was driven into the peat so none of such oligotrophic conditions. One such plant is it remained above ground. This post, the Holme sphagnum moss, a plant which grows on raised Post, now protrudes 4 meters above ground lev- bogs and can form thick peat layers. These peat- el. lands were vast, stretching from the dunes in Subsidence is greatest at the beginning. The Noord-Holland to the higher ground of Gelder- ground level subsidence had consequences for land and Overijssel; the Zuiderzee was not yet in the farmers, since, as the land grew steadily wet- existence. The peatlands ran northwards to ter it eventually became impossible to grow large parts of the present Wadden Sea Region. grain. The fields were given over to pasture and There are large areas in which the peat forma- hay. tion continued unabated until man began to Another consequence was that the area exploit the land, a development which started in became vulnerable to incursions by the sea. the Carolingian era. The landscape, as it Large areas of the original peat bog landscape appeared before the advent of man, consisted of fell prey to the sea. a number of raised peat bog islands, which lay like slightly bulging cushions in the area. The rainwater from these raised bogs was drained off via moorland rivers, which carried the wet-

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Living at the edge of the water Terps thus arose as a result of - active or passive In this dynamic coastal environment Man has - raising of individual dwelling places. Such tried to wrest an existence since the Neolithic domestic mounds could grow up next to each age (5000-2000 BC). Remains of Neolithic set- other into village mounds. The height of the tlements can be found in the Groetpolder in mound gives an indication of the duration of Noord-Holland and elsewhere. The settlers were habitation, the number of farms and the con- adapted to the coastal environment and lived struction materials used. The dwelling mounds mainly by catching fish and gathering shellfish. (terps or wierdes) did not all appear at the same This contrasts with the megalith found under a time. This is well illustrated in Westergo. The thick layer of clay near Heveskes monastery in oldest mounds lie in the center of the area, a Groningen, which is evidence of agricultural set- long way from the present-day coast. To the tlement from the mid-Neolithic age without any north of these is a series of mounds which were demonstrable relationship with the coastal envi- first inhabited in Roman times. They are set out ronment. in a neat row, because the people chose a high- In the Bronze Age (2000-1000 BC) there was er coastal or salt marsh ridge formed by the sea settlement on the raised salt mashes in the as a dwelling place. There are mounds from the province of Noord-Holland. The area was rela- middle ages on a coastal ridge which was formed tively densely populated, particularly in the peri- later, parallel to the ‘Roman’ one. There is thus od from 1350 to 900 BC. During this period the clear evidence that the extension of the coast to sea had no direct impact: the salt-marsh was the north is closely connected with the develop- turned into a fresh-water landscape and was no ment of human habitation. longer flooded by the sea. Settlement in Noord- Holland came to an end around 800 BC. The area grew increasingly wet, swamps developed and a thick layer of peat was formed. In contrast, con- Digging up the terps ditions in other parts of the Dutch Wadden Sea The dwelling mounds were in the past raised using grass sods, domes- Region became very favorable for habitation. tic waste and manure. An extremely fertile mix, for which there was a From 600 BC people settled in the salt-marsh sudden and real need when in the 19th century large areas of the moor landscape of Groningen and Fryslân. Initially and cutaways on the sandy soils were opened up for [agricultural] use. people only spent the summer there and retreat- The fertility of the poor sandy soils was increased by adding earth ed to the old villages on the sand in the winter. to the topsoil and this also improved the water-retaining capacity of The settlers brought livestock and grew crops. the soil. To bring one hectare of sandy soil into cultivation required Flooding with salt water would be disastrous for around 120 tons (80 cubic meters) of terp or wierde earth4. arable farming: the entire harvest could be lost. Terps and wierdes were dug up on a large scale and the earth was Evidently the sea had so little impact at this time transported to the sandy area by tjalk. It was a profitable round trip for that the crops were in no real danger. Seasonal the bargees. It was a huge assault on the terps: large parts of terps, habitation eventually became permanent. and sometimes entire terps, were dug up and distributed over the With the influx of residents, the settlements sandy areas. In some cases houses were broken up and rebuilt after the were gradually raised up. Manure and household terp was dug out. The churches and churchyards were usually spared, waste piled up, turfs were dug for the walls of but there are stories of digging so close to the churchyard that bones farms and to raise the floors. Initially dwelling protruded from the steep wall. Needless to say, a treasure-house of mounds arose as a result of habitation and there archaeological information was lost. was as yet no intentional raising of the land. Only the very unusual finds, such as the silver treasure of When the sea level started to rise again these (Fryslân), were publicised, but no thought was given to less valuable higher grounds were of course the best suited for things, such as pottery, never mind organic deposits and organic arable farming. At a certain point the settlers no residues. This changed when the professional archaeologists started doubt switched over to artificial raising and taking an interest in the terp and wierde district. Prof. A.E. van Giffen extending of the existing dwelling mounds to acquired international fame with his excavation of the Ezinge wierde. protect the fields or extend the area of arable The excavation was partly financed by the sale of the terp earth…. land. Before building a farm or new dwellings they often created an artificial mound (wierde), as evidenced by archaeological excavations of the Tuinster Wierde in (Groningen). The oldest dykes were also primarily intended to pro- tect arable land from the intrusive sea water.

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Building the dykes Robles (sometimes called Zwarte Kornel). To the Dykes form another type of protection against south of Harlingen there is a statue of him on salt water. The pattern of the dykes indicates the the dyke, and stones in the dyke slope also show period when they were built. Dykes were already how the sea dyke has been raised in the course built very early on, as is shown by an excavation of history. at Peins, where a small dyke was found which Breaches in the dykes caused great trouble in predated the start of the Christian calendar. Ini- the areas behind them, but in general the dykes tially dyke building was restricted to the protec- gave the inhabitants of the area a greater degree tion of small residential areas. Later larger areas, of security. Another consequence of dyke con- encompassing several villages, were surrounded struction however was that a solution had to be by a ring dyke. The first enclosures of larger areas found for surplus rainwater. Prior to dyking, this with dykes date from the 10th or 11th centuries. water had naturally run off into the sea. now it Later were reclaimed bit by bit from stagnated where it was. Provisions had to be the sea, as in the Middelzee area, the Fivel bay made to control the polder water. This was done and the Dollard. Each time new sea defenses in the form of broad watercourses to store the were laid to seaward, the old dyke was retained polder water and sluices to discharge the water. as an inner dyke, a dormant sea defense. Usual- Of course the further an area was from the sea ly the old dyke was maintained, to provide extra the harder it was to drain off the water. The security if the new sea dyke should give way. many monasteries in the area played an impor- Sometimes such a dyke was even specially built tant role in the increasingly complex water con- for this purpose, as is the case of the Slachte trol system in the area within the dykes. The dijk, which runs straight across Westergo. The construction of dykes and dyke locks or drainage pattern of dykes is a splendid illustration of the sluices (zijlen) caused the appearance of sluice human occupation of the area. and dyke villages, such as Oudesluis, and Thus land was captured from the sea, but the Oude and Nieuwe Bildtzijl. sea also took land back. Large marine incursions led to loss of land, such as the incursions which Trade and travel led to the formation of the Zuiderzee (from the The development of the Wadden Sea Region was 11th century) and the incursion in the Dollard. strongly affected not only by the constant battle Sometimes it was a case of natural processes, against the water but also by trade. Even in but often the hand of man was involved. For Roman times there were extensive trading links example, salt mining was an important activity between the Wadden Sea Region and the Roman in the coastal area, using the salty peat layers Empire to the south. At that time it was mainly occurring in the subsoil. It was easier for the sea agricultural produce (meat, skins) which were to penetrate in areas where these layers had supplied in exchange for pottery, jewellery, wine been dug. But it was not only salt extraction and other specifically Roman commodities. which made the area vulnerable. In the peat The significance of trade increased in the ear- lands subsidence caused by agricultural prac- ly Middle Ages. At that time welfare was not tices also played a large role (see inset). Also, the only entirely determined by agricultural produc- dykes were neglected. In the Dollard a lot of land tivity. Crafts and industry underwent great loss was due to poorly maintained dykes during development and added numerous high-quality the internal struggles between the Schieringers products to the growing flow of goods, such as (Cistercians) and the Vetkopers (Premonstraten- amber and silver and gold jeweler. Some villages, sians). Large areas of cultural land were thus lost such as , became specialized trading through the action or negligence of man. Some posts, evidence of which can still be seen in the of the estuaries were again reclaimed (Mid- country. The Wadden Sea Region enjoyed a peri- delzee, Lauwersmeer), in other parts the water od of great prosperity, which continued into the remained. 11th and 12th centuries. The great concentration The construction of dykes made the inhabi- of Romanesque churches and monasteries was a tants of the coastal marshes less vulnerable to consequence of the prosperity and wealth of this floods, although these were not entirely ban- period. ished. The great flood of 1570 (All Saint’s Tide) For numerous reasons (see Otto Knottnerus’s for example, cost hundreds of lives. This was the contribution in this report) the Wadden Sea spur to raise the dyke, and the initiative was tak- Region lost its leading position in trade during en by the Spanish governor of Fryslân, Caspar de the course of the Late Middle Ages. The area was

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also only partially able to reap the benefits of Groningen the separation led to specialization in the large-scale peat extraction in the hinterland arable farming. The Oldambt district developed and the trade in turf, which started in the 16th after 1800 into one of the most progressive century and expanded enormously in the 17th arable areas in . Specialization also had century. The major centers of trade and industry an impact on traditional building: arable farming lay outside the area: the Wadden Sea Region requires a different type of farm to dairy farm- found itself increasingly marginalized. Apart ing. The Oldambt-style farm is thus somewhat from Leeuwarden, it did not reach the stage of different from the characteristic Frisian ‘head, developing large towns. However, it is striking neck and barrel’ (kop-hals-romp) farm. that the various small, prosperous towns did The increased scale of agricultural production develop, and in addition to performing a region- and European agricultural policy in the twenti- al market and trade function for the surrounding eth century left their mark on the region. Land agricultural area, also continued to play a role in reallocation schemes brought and still bring long-distance trade. However the Wadden Sea great changes to the landscape. A part of the Region was still characterized by habitation in Oldambt district, ‘the grain republic’5 of olden the many villages. times, is being transformed into a „Blue City“, a new urban living environment, built around a The use of the land and the sea newly created lake. In recent decades ‘alien’ Many places on the coast and on the islands forms of agriculture, such as pig farming, bulb developed into fishing ports, such as Oudeschild, fields and glasshouse horticulture have been , and Harlingen. Den Helder introduced to the region. Organic agriculture is - a naval port from the 18th century onwards - also on the increase and more and more region- saw great expansion in the 19th century after it al products are being developed. became a garrison town and the naval dockyard was transferred to the town from Medemblik. Industry and mineral extraction On the islands income from agriculture and Industrialisation in the area mainly took the fisheries was supplemented with other forms of form of factories with links to agriculture, such activity: the merchant navy and whaling became as dairy and feed factories. Apart from these, the important activities. The commodores’ houses main traditional industries in the Wadden Sea and the whale bones in the island villages still Region are brickworks, tile works, pottery and bear testimony to this. shipbuilding. The importance of shipping is indi- Land use was varied. Agricultural operations cated by the presence of shipyards. Large-scale traditionally took the form of arable and live- industry has recently developed in Delfzijl, Har- stock farming as described above. Gradually this lingen and . Exploratory drilling for ‘mixed farm’ disappeared however, and the farm- gas has taken place both onshore and in the ers began to specialize. The oldest inhabited Wadden Sea. Dominant new landscape elements areas, such as the southern part of Westergo, include wind turbines, both concentrated in were less suitable for arable farming, due to the wind parks and distributed over the agricultural continuing problems with drainage, and here the area. Activities in the Wadden Sea which affect focus shifted to dairy farming. Arable farms are the underwater landscape include sand and shell found on the higher raised salt marsh ridges and extraction and cockle, shrimp and mussel fish- on the younger polders along the coast, such as ing. the Anna Paulowna polder, and the Bildt and the Oldambtster polders. Sheep farming developed Tourism on Texel and Wieringen, where they used a form One development which has had a huge impact of field enclosure found nowhere else in the on the landscape of the Wadden Sea islands is Netherlands: piled up sod banks called tuun- tourism. It was not until after the Second World wallen. War that the Dutch Wadden Sea islands and the coastal area have become very important for Recent developments in the countryside recreation and tourism. The trek to the coast is In agriculture we saw the separation of the mainly concentrated on the islands, but here and mixed farm, as in the rest of north-western there (very recently) leisure facilities have been Europe. This meant not only a specialization in created on and near the sea dyke as well. The livestock or arable farming on each farm, but facilities take the form of hotels, villa parks, also whole regions starting to specialize. In camp sites, marinas, airfields and the like. Cul-

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tural tourism is a new trend on the main land: subsequently subdivided into individual sub- walking and cycling to appreciate the landscape regions which are clearly distinct from one and cultural heritage values. In this context another due to their genesis and their current numerous historic buildings, such as manor landscape features. houses, farms and former town halls now serve a new purpose: they are converted into small- 4.5.3 The Wadden Sea islands scale tourist accommodation, or sometimes into regional museums. The Wadden Sea islands were created from the natural coastal barrier in an intensive interac- 4.5.2 Sub-regions in the Dutch tion between man and the forces of nature. Man Wadden Sea Area made full use of the opportunities offered by coastal erosion and the deposition of sediment: In geological terms, the Wadden Sea Region is securing drifting sands by constructing sand characterized by the processes which occur in a dykes at the points where dunes would be shallow coastal sea with a predominantly sandy formed. The zoning of the islands is a character- bed. Other important factors in its development istic feature: beach, dune area, inner dune are the gradual rises in sea level and the exten- fringe and (former) salt marshes. On the North sive transportation of sediment. The action of Sea side the islands have a natural sea defense the wind and waves created elongated offshore in the form of dunes. Where the belt of dunes bars, broken only by the mouths of rivers and was very narrow or low, people often reinforced incursions by the sea. the natural defense with artificial defenses, for The location of this coastal barrier was and is example using sand dykes. On the Wadden Sea still determined by the position of the Pleis- side most islands have a strip of salt marsh tocene hills of De Hooge Berg (Texel). which has gradually been brought into cultiva- Behind the islands lies the Wadden Sea itself, tion. Often the open salt marsh soils are a shallow coastal sea consisting of channels and enclosed by dykes to protect them from flooding gullies, sandbars, mud flats and salt marshes. The by the Wadden Sea, but there are also (parts of) tide transports the sediment twice daily via the islands which are not protected by dykes, and tidal inlets to the Wadden Sea. The sand carried which are submerged at high tide. Examples along with it is deposited a short distance from include the ‘grieën’ on and Ame- the mud flat channels on sandbanks, sandy flats land. or sandy ridges along the channels. The finer For a long time the agricultural lands provided (clay) particles are transported further inland by an important but meager means of subsistence the tidal waters and deposited under more for the island population. The inhabitants tried peaceful circumstances on mud banks or on the many ways to broaden the basis and sought oth- salt marshes. A great part of the salt marshes has er sources of income. Trade, fishing and seafar- been reclaimed and now forms a part of the ing (including whaling) were all important, and mainland. were supplemented with activities such as Further inland still, between the area of beachcombing (or ‘wrecking’) and smuggling. marine clay deposits and the sandy Pleistocene The western Wadden Sea islands served an soils, is an area of peatland. The width of this important function as piloting and supply points area varies: in Groningen and Oostergo the peat for shipping. On some islands whale bones and strip is fairly narrow in places, in Fryslân on the jawbones, used as fencing in front of the hous- other hand it is sometimes dozens of kilometers es, are reminders of the inhabitants’ whaling wide. In Noord-Holland, finally, the marshland past. Beacons and light houses were built on area gives way to an enormous, elongated area many islands for the benefit of shipping. of peat moor. In this area it is hard to decide The originally agricultural villages are general- which areas still belong to the Wadden Sea ly situated on the fringe of the inner dune: the Region and which do not. transition from dunes to former salt marsh. The The Wadden Sea Region can thus be divided landscape here has a fairly ‘closed’ nature. The into a number of landscape zones: the Wadden farming villages are different from the harbor Sea islands, the Wadden Sea itself, the marsh- settlements (West-Terschelling, East , land area (enclosed with dykes) and the peat Oudeschild) and the recently developed leisure moors bordering the clay area. The marshland villages (‘recreatiedorpen’). Tourism began to area of Groningen, Fryslân and Noord-Holland is play an important role in the 20th century.

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Based on the history of their development and Burg, De Waal, De Koog and Oosterend. The new inhabitation it is natural to make a distinction ferry port at the southern tip of the island is between the islands of Texel and Wieringen, accessible by boat over the from the which have a Pleistocene core (boulder clay and naval port of Den Helder. The island is famous for wind-borne sand deposits from the Pleistocene its bird sanctuaries and is much-visited by age), and the barrier islands of Vlieland, Ter- tourists. schelling, and . As a The island has specific characteristic fea- result of the construction of the Afsluitdijk and tures: sod banks (tuunwallen), aisled sheep- the reclamation of the Wieringermeerpolder, sheds (schapenboeten) and a diversity of vil- Wieringen is no longer an island, although it has lage types. Tuunwallen are field dividers, not lost its island character. approximately one meter high, consisting of piled-up grass or heather sods. They date from The Dutch islands with a Pleistocene core: the 17th or 18th centuries. Sheep-sheds, like Texel and Wieringen the tuunwallen, are found mainly on the high The current island of Texel came into being when Pleistocene part of the island. These are promi- a sand dyke was created (1629-30) between the nent elements in the landscape, which reflect original island of Texel, which consisted mainly the important role played by sheep farming on of boulder clay and wind-borne sand hills, and the island. Apart from elongated nucleated row the barrier island of Eijerland. The salt marsh to villages, which can be found elsewhere on the its east was reclaimed in 1835 (the Eijerland islands, Texel has a real harbor at Oudeschild. Polder). Seawards from the first sand dyke, a new Oudeschild was a naval base for some time sand dyke was created in 1855 which was until that role was transferred to Den Helder by breached by the sea in three places in 1858. One the end of the eighteen’s century. The port of the openings, de Slufter, still exists, and is dates from 1780, but long before that ocean- now a nature reserve. going ships lay at anchor here in the Texel The highest point on Texel outside the dune Roads while waiting for favorable winds. Water area is the Hoge Berg at Den Burg (15 m). On the to supply the ships was drawn from the wells south-western side the island is extended by a of the Brakenstein farmstead at the foot of the series of arched sandbanks with dunes and a Hoge Berg. To the south of Oudeschild lies the connecting sand flat, de Hors, and on the south- Oude Schans (Old Redoubt) from the Eighty eastern side by a salt marsh polder, the Prins Years’ War. The center of Den Burg has two Hendrikpolder of 1847. The original very small- ‘rings’: circular streets. The inner ring is said to scale system of plots was lost as a result of land date back to defensive works from Viking consolidation schemes. The major settlements times, the outer ring is a bulwark from the are Oudeschild (the old harbor), Den Hoorn, Den 14th century.

Fig. 4.84: Tuunwallen on Texel

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Finally, the Russian graveyard is a special cultur- containing the treasures was buried around 850. al heritage element. It harks back to the uprising In all probability the treasure belonged to a Dan- of the Georgians, who, with the inhabitants of ish nobleman who took up residence on Wierin- Texel, fought a bloody battle against the German gen. This is the first indication that the Norse- occupation forces from 5 April to 20 May 1945. men or were not only robbers and plun- 565 Georgians were among the dead. derers, but also took up residence in the coastal Wieringen is - or rather was - not actually a area6. Wadden Sea island, but a Zuiderzee island. By The shape of the farm is a notable feature on this we mean that, just like the former islands of both Texel and Wieringen. It is a variant of the , Schokland and Marken, the island has no Noord-Holland ‘cloche’-house (stolp), in which offshore bars, dunes or beaches. Before it was the living quarters extended from the front. In connected to the mainland the old island con- the corner, where the living quarters meet the sisted of a Pleistocene core of a somewhat work areas, we find the chimney of the bake- smaller scale than Texel with a salt marsh pold- house. er on the south side, the Waard Nieuwland pold- er. The traditional small-scale plots disappeared Decoys during a land re-allotment scheme in the nine- Decoys7 are an original Dutch invention, teen thirties. Practically all the tuunwallen which has been known for around 700 years. which had been common here, too, also disap- It is assumed that around 145 decoys existed peared. It is interesting to note that in recent in the Wadden Sea Region. The decoy busi- years new tuunwallen have been built as part of ness is seen as a form of hunting with a clear another land re-allotment scheme. historical tradition and value. Decoys are The most important towns are the harbour and strange, centuries-old elements in the land- fishing town of Den Oever, where the Afsluitdijk scape and now form recreational and nature begins, Oosterland, Hippolytushoef ,Westerland areas of international interest. and De Haukes, the former harbor town of the A decoy consists of a pool of water sur- island. The island itself has retained its agricul- rounded by woods, laid out in a quiet place in tural character. an area which is rich in water (and water- Two activities are worthy of special note. First, fowl). The average area is around 2 hectares. the harvesting of seaweed, or sea wrack (Zostera Around the generally rectangular cage pool maritima). This was used for all manner of pur- lie 4 to 6 trap ditches. All of this is surround- poses: roof covering, litter for stalls, dyke-build- ed by an wall of earth. Duck catching is a ing. When people also started to use it to stuff type of hunting with lures, unique teamwork mattresses, seaweed harvesting became one of between the decoy-man and his tame islanders’ main occupations. The southern dyke domestic ducks and the decoy dog, with a of Wieringen still consists partly of seaweed. smouldering turf and some food. In addition There are also still some seaweed storehouses, to catching ducks the decoy business but the finest example has been moved to the involved management and maintenance of . The harvesting of seaweed the decoy, duck pond, duck decoy tree belt came to an end following a disease in the 1930s, and trap ditches, as well as caring for the which seriously affected the seaweed beds. tame ducks and the decoy dog. Another activity relates to ducks. In the 17th ‘Kooirecht’ is the right to catch ducks. The century there were 15 decoys on the island, two ‘afpalingsrecht’ (demarcation right) is a cir- of which remain. Wild ducks for the table were cular area within which the peace must not caught in the decoys. Tame ducks were also kept, be disturbed. The size of the circle varies: in particularly around De Haukes. They were kept Groningen the circles have a radius of only a for their down and eggs, and were fed with few hundred meters, in Fryslân a radius of undersize fish which could not be sold. Duck 1200 meters was common; in Noord-Holland keeping was thus closely associated with fishing. there were circles with a radius of 1130 or In recent years there have been some impor- 1500 meters. The shape and layout of the tant finds from the Viking era. The first Viking decoys also varied, depending on the way treasure was found in 1996, in a meadow near they developed, the hunting area and the Westerklief, to the south of Hippolytushoef. An hunting season. Because the decoys are often earthenware pot was found, containing a many found in the open grassland polders the pieces of jewellery, coins and silver bars. The pot

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The barrier islands: Schiermonnikoog, decoy woodlands are striking and form char- Ameland, Terschelling and Vlieland acteristic elements in the landscape. In the The islands of Schiermonnikoog, Ameland and dune areas they form a green contrast to the Terschelling have a very similar structure to that sloping fringes of the dunes. of the East : an elongated shape, In view of the once large numbers of tapering to the east, one or more villages in the decoys, this was an authentic feature of land shelter of the dunes, hook-shaped sand bars on use and was a traditional hunting method for the western side, an extensive dune and salt- catching birds (in addition to goose and marsh area on the eastern side and an enclosed plover catching). A survey dating from 1494 salt marsh. Here, too, the islands show a marked shows that half the population of Wieringen tendency to shift eastwards. Sand dykes were was involved in fishing and bird catching. built to in an attempt to strengthen the adhesion Each Wednesday in the summer a special between the islands and the accumulating sand- ‘bird barge’ left for Amsterdam8. Bird catch- bars and salt marshes on the eastern side and to ing was thus an important rural activity. In gain some control over the process of island social terms the decoys have added signifi- movement. Vlieland differs from the other three cance because in a number of situations they islands in that it consists purely of dunes with a were in common ownership. settlement on the south-eastern side. The Netherlands was the birthplace of the The islands now belong to the province of decoy, and has the oldest and largest number Fryslân. Tourism is very important to all these of decoys. From here decoys and the decoy islands. It began later than on the German Wad- business were introduced to other parts of den Sea islands and partly because of this it is the Wadden Sea Region: in the 18th century slightly different. There are no boulevards, few in Germany and at the end of the 19th cen- large hotels, but rather guest houses, farmyard tury in Denmark. and general camp sites and private summer There were around 175 duck decoys in the houses for rent. Tourists are not permitted to Wadden Sea Region as a whole. The majority take vehicles onto Vlieland and Schiermon- of these have disappeared entirely and can nikoog. only be traced on old maps or in historical In addition to these inhabited islands there are documents. Others are no longer used as other uninhabited ones. Some of them were decoys, but are marked in the landscape by once inhabited and are relics of far larger the residual tree belt, the duck pond or the islands, as in the case of . Others are structure of duck pond and trap ditches. Of ‘young’ islands. the 33 decoys still in tact, 29 are in the Netherlands and 4 on the German island of Föhr.

PROVINCE DECOY DECOY DUCK DECOY NOW TOTAL (REGISTERED) RELIC DISAPPEARED Noord-Holland 8 6 27 41

Fryslân 19 5 47 71 Table 4.1: Groningen 2 2 26 30 Overview of decoys in The Netherlands in the Totals 29 13 100 142 LANCEWAD research area

COUNTRY DUCK DECOY DECOY DUCK DECOY NOW TOTAL (REGISTERED) RELIC DISAPPEARED THE 29 13 100 142 NETHERLANDS

GERMANY 4 11 2 17 Table 4.2: DENMARK - 4 - 4 Overview of duck decoys in the entire LANCEWAD TOTAL33 28 102 163 research area

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Schiermonnikoog, the smallest inhabited Wad- still a part, the Nieuwlandsreid between the den island has suffered constantly from erosion Kooiduinen and the Oerd, which is only separat- on the western side. It was already causing con- ed from the sea by a summer dyke. Unusually cern in the 16th century. The church of the for- this area, like all the wastelands before, is still in mer village of Westerburen had to be moved in common ownership. 1717, but the new church was endangered by Terschelling, at 30 km, is the longest of the 1760. In 1762 the third church was built and in Dutch Wadden Sea islands. Due to its strategic accordance with the wishes of the then landlord, position Terschelling was involved in many wars. construction continued in regular ‘streken’ In 1374, 1396 and 1499 villages were raised to (strokes) which now characterize the village. It is the ground by invaders. From 1569 to 1576 the the only planned village on the Wadden Sea island was used as a base by the ‘Watergeuzen’ islands. There are still six active farms on the salt (Sea Beggars). In 1666, during the Second march polder adjoining the village. Anglo-Dutch War, the English set fire to a large The island was originally in the possession of number of merchant ships and the village of the Cistercian monastery Klaarkamp (schier West-Terschelling. West-Terschelling, like the monnik = grey monk, after the color of their village of Vlieland, is a traditional settlement of habit). Later, in 1638, it fell into private hands. fishermen, pilots and seafarers. The other vil- At the start of the Second World War the island lages have a more agricultural character. From was owned by the German Graf Von Bernstorff; east to west, in the lee of the dunes, lie the vil- but it was confiscated after the war. Since then lages of Oosterend, Hoorn, Lies, Formerum, Lan- it has been under the management of the State derum and Midsland. The villages are built on Property Department, which transferred owner- what was once an offshore bar and some, such ship of the dunes and unembanked salt-marshes as Formerum and Midsland, have a structure to the Society for Nature Conservation in the reminiscent of the ‘’ villages in Noord-Hol- Netherlands a few years ago. The dune and salt land, with roads which run along the foot of the marsh area on the eastern side of the island barrier beach. In addition there are several terp- (Kobbeduinen, Willemsduin and the depressions like settlements in the salt marsh area, such as between them) is an important nature reserve. Kaart, Kinnum and Seeryp. Ameland was first named in the 9th century. West-Terschelling and Midsland are densely The island consists of four villages situated in the built, the other villages have a more open struc- lee of the dunes: from east to west Buren, Nes, ture. West-Terschelling is particularly interesting Ballum and Hollum. Formerly each had its own in terms of cultural heritage due to the many old salt marsh polder. The dune area on the eastern houses (17th century) and of course the Bran- side of the island is crowned by the Oerd, a 24 daris (1594), the oldest remaining lighthouse in meter-high dune. The first land re-allotment the Netherlands. The Brandaris was built on the scheme in the Netherlands took place on Ame- orders of the States of Holland, when the old land in 1924. The typical farmhouses were also beacon was lost to the sea. Terschelling was then built at that time. Before the re-allotment farm- still part of Holland, and the States considered ers still operated from the villages of Hollum and the island to be of such strategic importance Ballum. The remarkable broad sandy ridges (partly due to the war with Spain), that it between the plots were also created during this ordered the enormous lighthouse to be built. The period. They came into being because the plots churchyard is also very unusual, lying at the foot in between had to be dug out to get closer to the of the Brandaris, where numerous images and groundwater. inscriptions on gravestones refer to the maritime In the years following 1943 around 200 wells past of the dead. There is something touching appeared on the beach to the west of Hollum. about the graves of the unknown, which are lit- They originated from the neighborhood of Sier, erally left to one side. which was buried under the sand in the 15th Various land re-allotment schemes improved century. The site is now submerged in the the agricultural structure of the island. The cran- Borndiep channel again. Over the last three cen- berry is an unusual agricultural crop here. It was turies the island has grown in an easterly direc- accidentally washed ashore in the 19th century, tion at an average rate of a kilometer per centu- and grew abundantly in the humid dune valleys ry. with little maintenance. The large dune and salt The Ameland polders were not provided with marsh area in the east of the island, the - dykes until the 19th century. Even now there is plaat, is a nature reserve of European stature.

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Vlieland was recorded as early as 1317. For cen- the fact that the writers Godfried Bomans and turies there were two villages, but West-Vlieland Jan Wolkers each spent a week there alone in the disappeared at the beginning of the 18th centu- seventies. The peace, wildlife and bird life left a ry. Oost-Vlieland flourished in the 17th century completely different impression on each of them. since many ships would lie off Vlieland to wait for a good wind. There are a few 17th century 4.5.4 The Wadden Sea buildings in the village, including the Tromphuis, previously owned by the Admiralty, and now a The processes that occur in the Wadden Sea museum. are to a large extent determined by the tidal The Kroons Polders created at the start of currents. These have made it a very dynamic the 20th century, on the western side of the area - seen in the human time-scale. Erosion island near the large Vliehors sand bar, are and sedimentation are always occurring in dif- now a nature reserve. The bay itself is a mili- ferent places, depending on the position and tary training ground. The island is prey to ero- size of the sea inlets and tidal channels, and sion practically along the whole length of its depending on the amount of sediment. Where North Sea coast, and has to be protected by there is vegetation to secure the washed-up jetties. sediment a salt marsh can attain a reasonable The most important uninhabited islands and height in a fairly short time. In tidal channels sand banks are , , and bays the old peat layers have been lost , , de , het through erosion. Elsewhere the peat is covered Balgzand and de . In the middle of with sand or clay layers. the Wadden Sea, halfway between Harlingen The Dutch Wadden Sea Region beyond the and West-Terschelling lies the former island of dykes is bordered on the east by the river Ems. Griend. This island was named in 1215. After the One of its major channels, the Bay (Bocht) of flood of 1287 less than 10 houses remained. In Watum, scours the edge of the dwelling mound the course of the centuries the population con- area of Fivelingo and is responsible for the ero- tinually reduced: in 1720 there was only a sin- sion there. The North Sea and the Marsdiep bor- gle house standing. Since 1916 it has been a bird der the area on the west side. The intermediate sanctuary. What is now left of the island consists area is indented with a series of sea inlets, of a sand bank with a few low dunes and a small which divide the islands and sandbanks from salt marsh. It is moving to the south east. each other. Recently measures have been taken to combat The last two thousand years have witnessed the complete collapse of the island. In working great dynamism in the northern coastal area. the land people have found shards of pottery Channels moved about, islands drifted gradually from the pre-Roman iron age which indicate to the east, and various sea bays developed to that the area, situated in front of the present the south. In fact what we are dealing with here coastline, was habitable even then. is estuaries, because (with the exception of the Rottumeroog was first named in 1354. Own- Marne bay in Fryslân) in all cases we are con- ership was then disputed between two Gronin- cerned with a broadening of the existing lower gen monasteries. The island was not inhabited reaches of rivers. Thus the Dollard basin, Fivel until 1483. In 1570 the Watergeuzen had a base bay and Hunze bay, the Lauwerszee, the Mid- here. In 1628 a new schoolmaster was appoint- delzee and, largest of all, the Zuiderzee devel- ed who also had the job of wreck master. How- oped. Remarkably, these bays did not all come ever, the island was deserted; from 1738 to into existence at once, nor can their develop- 1965 only a wreck master lived there. The island ment be linked to periods of transgression (peri- is still decreasing in size and will eventually dis- ods in which sea level rises relatively quickly). appear into the Ems. Contrary to the wishes of What we find is that the formation of the one those who feel involved in the history of the bay sometimes coincided with the start of a island, the government has abandoned efforts hydrosere in another. The formation of the Dol- to preserve it. lard happened at the same time as the Fivel bay Rottumerplaat formed to the west of Rot- silted up and was gradually poldered. The devel- tumeroog. Here some dunes were formed, aided opment and silting-up of large marine bays has by a sand dyke, and a salt marsh began to form more to do with changes in the pattern of the behind the dunes. Active maintenance was con- currents in the main channels than with rises in tinued. The island is largely famous because of sea level.

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In the course of the centuries man has exerted the Marsdiep (between Den Helder and Texel). great influence over the dynamics of the Wad- The number of wrecks is especially high along den Sea. By building dykes around residential these deep channels. The Wadden Sea is there- areas on the mainland and gradually reclaiming fore very important in terms of marine archaeol- land in former marine bays, the natural process- ogy. Many of the wrecks are in places where they es were increasingly kept at bay. In fact it may be are covered with a layer of sediment, so that said that the mainland was separated from the they are reasonably well preserved. Only when a Wadden (mud flat) system by dyking. The con- channel moves and a shipwreck is washed free struction of a connecting dam between the Anna can erosion start up again and parts of the ship Paulowna polder and the island of Wieringen in and cargo become scattered. The Wadden Sea is 1927 and the construction of the Afsluitdijk thus very important to research into the devel- between Wieringen and the Frisian village of opment of shipping and trade. Zurich in 1932 signified a huge breach in the development of the Dutch Wadden Sea Region. Recent developments The Zuiderzee became a fresh water lake and Fishing was increasingly important in the Wad- was renamed the IJsselmeer. The salt marsh den Sea from the 17th century onwards. Even areas of Noord-Holland and southern Westergo today, shrimp, cockle and mussel catches are in Fryslân lost their direct contact with the sea. important. Due to the serious damage to the Since then the Lauwerszee has also been seabed, the shipwrecks and to the vulnerable flo- dammed (1969) and of the large marine bays, ra and fauna caused by cockle fishing in partic- only the Dollard remains. ular, this type of fishing is meeting with ever The landscape of the Wadden Sea is subject to greater resistance. great changes. At high tide the area looks to the Tourism benefits from of the special qualities observer like an extensive expanse of water, a of the Wadden Sea Region. The landscape of real sea, at low tide we see the sparkling surface channels, shoals and mud flats can be admired of the bare clay shoals and sandbanks, cut from the sea, for example from one of the old through by large and small channels and gullies. sailing boats (the ‘brown fleet’) which are adapt- The salt marsh with its vegetation is only flood- ed to transport tourists. ‘Wadlopen’ is another ed at very high water levels. The great open special activity, whereby a guide will take you for expanse is bounded by the islands and the coast a wander around the flats, or even escort you by of the mainland. The large numbers of birds are foot to an island. The area attracts more than essential to the Wadden Sea experience: waders, 100,000 ‘wadlopers’ (mud flat walkers) per year. gulls, ducks and geese find food and rest here. In quiet areas it is not unusual to see seals. 4.5.5 The embanked marshland region In terms of cultural heritage, the Wadden Sea is very important because of the shipwrecks, par- The most striking characteristics of the marsh- ticularly around the larger channels which give land region are the elements which remind us of access to the harbors inland. There are also sub- man’s interaction with the water. In one way the merged villages, which may be interesting for water was a friend to man, for example by pro- future research. viding fish and the means for shipping. On the other hand, the water, and certainly the salt Shipwrecks water, was a foe to hearth and home, agricultur- On Christmas Eve 1593 a severe storm blew up. al land and drinking water supplies. In terms of No less than 44 merchant ships lying off Texel its development, the marshland area formed a were lost. In the course of the centuries many single entity with the Wadden Sea, but the con- hundreds of ships have sunk in the treacherous struction of dykes removed it from the dynamics Wadden Sea Region. The continual shifting of of ebb and flow. In fact it is a fossilized salt- the channels and shoals and the lack of buoying marsh landscape, which is no longer directly are partly to blame. affected by the sea. Practically all the major ports in our country Both periods (before and after the dykes were were situated on the Zuiderzee. The IJssel towns built) can be clearly traced in the layout of the also had to pass through the Zuiderzee before landscape. On the one hand the development of sailing overseas. There were two ways to reach the area as part of the Wadden Sea can still be the deep water of the North Sea: via the Vlie (the clearly recognized by the numeros winding inlet between Vlieland and Terschelling) and via ditches that are remnants of former

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channels. The position of dwelling mounds is an about the lives and conditions of the former indication of the geomorphology of the area: inhabitants. often mounds are arranged in long rows on the old salt marsh ridges. On the other hand, the Farmers and traders many landscape elements which relate to Despite the predominance of the salt water, from drainage are reminiscent of the huge efforts the outset the farmers attempted not only live- which had to be made to get rid of surplus rain- stock but even arable farming on the salt marsh- water after the ring dykes in the mound area es. Archaeologists have found seeds including were closed. barley, flax and beans. Of course the arable fields were on the highest parts, the high parts of the Dwelling mounds (Terps)9 salt marsh ridges and the flanks of the mounds, Population density has steadily increased since since most agricultural crops cannot survive in the Early Iron Age. The fertile clay soils were very salt water conditions. attractive to the farmers from the nearby sandy The salt environment restricted them in other soils. Originally the area was only inhabited in ways too. Trees and bushes could not grow on summer. Later people began to settle perma- the salt marshes, so that all the wood for build- nently. ing houses and farms had to be brought in from The first settlements date from around 2600 elsewhere. Thus there was always intensive years ago. The farmers settled on the highest exchange of goods with the surrounding areas. parts of the salt marsh; the dwelling mounds Despite the drawbacks, life in the Wadden Sea grew higher and higher as a result of the accu- Region was so successful that the entire area mulation of manure, settlement waste and was colonized and became inhabited in the active efforts. The various individual dwelling course of the Iron Age (600 - 0 BC) and the mounds rapidly merged to form common village Roman Age (0 - 400 AD). mounds. Thanks to their height the mounds The mound area flourished in Roman times. offered good protection from the high water, but Population growth necessitated more intensive sometimes it was necessary to protect the farm use of the land. One method was to divide what and the surrounding fields from the sea water had previously been common lands. Individual with a dyke. The farms were built in such a way land use generally produces better yields than that the living quarters were oriented towards common use. Ditches were dug to demark indi- the center of the mound while the farm build- vidual possessions. This improved water man- ings were further down the mound. This ensured agement, which also increased yields. On the good communication between the stalls and the mounds ditches were dug in radii from the cen- surrounding pastures. Often a road was laid out ter to the lower levels (creating radial plots). On at the foot of the village mounds connecting the the salt marshes use was made of existing chan- farms together (the ox track). nels and gullies. These winding watercourses As sea levels rose, the mounds had to be con- formed the core of a land-use scheme (involving tinually raised. This happened in a number of the division of land into irregular blocks), which stages: when flooding increased the mounds may have originated in the Pre-Roman Iron Age, were raised, in periods of relative peace no active and which is very characteristic of the older raising of the mounds was required. However, parts of the salt marsh area. some settlements were abandoned and gradual- After the Roman era, the marshland area ly silted over. shared in the general economic decline. These If a mound was to be raised or extended this were the turbulent times of the great migrations. was usually achieved using manure and grass Large groups of Angles and Saxons, Jutes and sods which were stuck onto the salt marsh. These left what is now Germany via the mound materials ensured excellent preservation condi- area to Britain. Many inhabitants of the Dutch tions for organic deposits, utensils and relics of part of the Wadden Sea Region also ventured to habitation in the mounds. The environmental is make the crossing. Some parts of the area were particularly suitable for preserving organic depopulated. remains, and is thus very different from the con- The situation changed in Merovingian and ditions of archaeological sites on sandy soils. The Carolingian times. The western part of the Wad- artificial dwelling mounds in the former salt den Sea Region came to lie at the crossroads of marsh area are thus archaeological treasure- important European trade routes: the east-west houses which still harbor numerous secrets route between , Denmark, and the

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Baltic area on the one hand and the north-south The construction of the dykes meant a great route on the other, running from the Mediter- improvement for the farmers. Larger areas could ranean via the Rhône/Saône, Meuse and be used for cultivation, and dairy production to the Almere (precursor of the Zuiderzee) and received a boost since the pastures in the fresh- the western Wadden Sea. This favorable position water environment within the dykes produced was exploited to the full by the inhabitants and more grass than when the sea water had free their trading partners. Merchants plied up and access. The farm buildings were no longer down the trade routes always seeking goods to restricted to the mounds, although people buy and sell. The word Fries was at that time a remained loyal to the mound villages for a long synonym for trader. The activities of craftsmen time to come. After all you could never be and tradesmen during this period led to the entirely certain of the dykes: numeros eddies and development of a different form of mound: pools bear witness to as many dyke breaches. whereas farming mounds were generally round, These breach eddies show that man was not the mounds on which many tradesmen and always successful in checking the force of the craftsmen lived and worked were often elongat- water in good time. Sometimes man was forced ed (trade mounds such as Holwerd and by such events to give up part of the enclosed Appingedam). The difference between these land. In other places the build-up of sediment mound forms can still be seen in the rural areas. was such that there were always new polders to The population grew in numbers and wealth: enclose. Former estuaries (such as the Middelzee parts of the Wadden Sea Region were among the and the Dollard) were thus re-conquered in most densely-populated places in North-western stages and once again taken into use by the Europe. Through its great wealth the region farmers. Old dyke patterns in many places tell became one of the main cultural centers of the story of the give and take of the Wadden Sea Europe. However, the wealth of this period did through the centuries. Land reclamation works not leave behind impressive cultural monuments. here and there along the sea dyke are the last Archaeological finds dated to this time do how- stage in the history of land reclamation. ever paint a picture of far-reaching trading con- Reclamation was an exceptional activity. Vari- tacts and the high level of craft and trading ous methods were used (see inset) to trap as activity. The numeros Romanesque churches and much silt as possible. Next the silt was spread monasteries from a few centuries later also show out over the salt marsh. If after some years the that there was great prosperity in the Wadden salt marsh was raised high enough a new sea Sea Region. dyke could be constructed. Hydraulic works began to be carried out in The dykes connection with the construction of the dykes, The history of dyke building in the mound district such as sluices and dyke locks (zijlen). In some goes back a very long way. Historical geographer parts of the marshland areas monasteries made Meindert Schroor distinguishes no less than 6 a significant contribution to the construction of stages in the laying of dykes10. Parts of a dyke dykes and the associated hydraulic works. The have recently been excavated in the Frisian vil- monastery owned more than 10,000 lage of Peins which date from the pre-Roman hectares of land in the 14th century, and built Iron Age. Such very old dykes are also known dykes and sluices in the Reitdiep basin in elsewhere in Fryslân. Presumably these first Groningen. dykes protected only one or a few farms and While agriculture benefited greatly from the associated fields. Extensive ring dykes were built dykes, trade in advance did not. The construction in the 10th century which enclose different vil- of continuous dykes meant that many villages lage areas. These are the oldest polders in the lost their open connection over water with the world: these ‘core’ or ‘mother’ polders are Wadden Sea and so also with the trade centers known from the Frisian district of Westergo. The further afield. Economic life underwent radical first ring dykes, which enclosed all of Oostergo change, and the major shipping and trading and Westergo, date from around 1100. The ring activities gradually became concentrated in the dykes of Middag and Humsterland were built at existing small towns on the coast or in new dam the same time. The later stages in the history of and lock villages. Complex, small-scale econom- the dykes relate to building dykes to protect ic activity became more concentrated, and for (part of) the bays and land reclamation works successful development the new economic cen- along the coast. ters in the Wadden Sea Region clearly could not

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compete adequately with the other similar cen- tant contribution to the dissemination of (late) ters in the surrounding area. The consequences Romanesque architecture. As a result of this of the disappearing links by water were of course large-scale building activity the Wadden Sea most heavily felt in the mound villages them- Region has a remarkably high concentration of selves, and particularly those which were devot- Romanesque buildings. ed to trade and industry. This was partly com- pensated in the course of time by the develop- Floods and loss of land ment of an ever finer network of canals and Man played an important role in wresting new waterways. Continuous canals were constructed land from the sea, but also contributed to the for long-distance traffic. The Delf was dug in loss of land, in three different ways: by neglect- Groningen as early as 1200, forming the connec- ing the dykes, by extracting salt, or by opening tion with the Reitdiep, the Fivel and the Dams- up the peatlands. terdiep. Thanks to this direct link, the town of Dykes were neglected mainly in times of eco- Appingedam flourished in the 13th century. Fur- nomic hardship and in wartime. The great loss of ther direct links were created later, like the 17th land due to the Dollard breach is often attribut- century boat canals. Approaches were dug to ed to poor dyke maintenance during the strug- connect individual villages: dead-end waterways gles between the Schieringers and the Vetkopers which connected a village to a through . (grey monks and cattle-fattening monks). Later these approaches were used to supply Whether this really was the reason for the incur- mound earth to the impoverished sandy soils. A sion of the Dollard is not sure: the often men- great number of terps were wholly or partially tioned date of the incursion, 1287, cannot be leveled in the period from 1850 to 1940 (see proved by historical sources and more probably inset). the incursion of the Dollard occurred in the fif- teenth century. The churches Salt extraction was an important economic In the Early Middle Ages missionaries like Boni- activity in the coastal region. The form it took face and his followers sought to bring Christian- was unusual. Whereas elsewhere on the Euro- ity to the inhabitants of the Wadden Sea Region. pean coast salt was obtained by evaporating sea Many village churches were built. The first water in salt pans, in the Wadden Sea Region it churches would have been simple wooden halls was obtained from peat. In places where the sea but these were gradually enlarged and replaced water came into contact with peat, the peat by buildings which were erected with tuff stone absorbed some of the salt and it was profitable and brick. Tuff stone had to be transported a to use this salt peat for salt production. The peat long way (from the Eifel) and was used until the was thus cut away, dried, bathed several times beginning of the 12th century. After that brick with sea water and dried until it was saturated became the main building material, using local with salt. Next the peat was burned and the salt clay as the raw material. was taken from the ashes. In the Wadden Sea Church-building gradually extended further, Region this was the only available source of salt. since every village of any size wanted its own Since a large population had to be supplied with parish church. It is striking that these churches salt, its extraction had serious consequences for stand at the center of the mound villages. As the the landscape. The cutting of the salt peat layers dwelling mounds grew, the farms moved further was practically an invitation to the sea to pene- and further towards the edge, leaving room for trate further inland. Numeros disastrous floods churches to be built in the center. It is likely that were caused by salt extraction. In some places this central space had previously housed the traces can be found of this activity in the form pond (dobbe), which served as a fresh water of organic deposits or in the form of plots with a reservoir for the village. great deal of micro-relief. In the north-east of The old stone churches were built in the the province of Fryslân alone some 3000 Romanesque (or Norman) style. This is further hectares of peat were dug for salt production11, confirmation of the trading links with southern including the low-lying area of De Kolken, Europe where this architectural style had been between Anjum and Ee. in use for far longer. The different orders of In addition to salt extraction, agricultural use monks (particularly the Cistercians and Premon- also lowered the level of the peat areas. The low- stratensians), who settled in the region from the ering of the groundwater level, which was nec- second half of the 11th century made an impor- essary for agriculture, caused setting of the soil.

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Furthermore, the increased aeration of the soil rent landscape, and for orientation in time (the led to oxidation of the semi-rotted plant high actual sea dykes and the lower, occasional- remains, from which peat was formed (see inset). ly broken, inner dykes). In spring and summer the The two processes reinforced each other and led vast grasslands are the domain of the meadow to a lowering of the surface sometimes of as birds. In the winter large numbers of geese, much as a few meters. Clearly this made such ducks and swans descend on the green plains. areas vulnerable to the sea. 4.5.5.1 Groningen Polders and ‘droogmakerijen’. The Netherlands has 445 ‘droogmakerijen’, with a total area of over The Pleistocene hinterland is generally fairly 310,000 ha12. A droogmakerij is not the same as a polder. A droogmak- flat, with the exception of a low outcrop of erij is all or part of a lake or sea which has been drained by pumping. A boulder clay near Winschoten and the Hond- polder is a piece of land on which the water management is controlled srug, between the rivers Hunze and Drentse Aa, independently of the surroundings. Each droogmakerij is a polder, but which runs right into the salt marsh area, with- not every polder is a droogmakerij. Polders can also come into being out a transitional peat zone. The town of through dyking a piece of marshand, which is reclaimed by a dyke or Groningen grew up on the furthermost point of embankment, such as the Wieringerwaard, the Bildt polders and the the Hondsrug, along the Drentse Aa. Dollard polders. In the old marshlands we can distinguish dif- In the Netherlands we distinguish four important periods in which ferent sub-regions. From east to west: Oldambt, lakes or seas were drained. The first period is the experimental stage, Fivelingo, the Reitdiep area (Middag, Humster- from 1533 to 1565. During this period a number of small lakes in the land and Marne) and the Lauwerszee area. neighbourhood of Alkmaar were drained. The second period is at the The oldest permanent settlements began in beginning of the 17th century, in which the large lakes in Noord-Hol- the districts of Fivelingo, Middag and Humster- land such as the Beemster (1608-1612), the Purmer (1618-1622) and land where large mounds developed. Excavations the Schermer (1633-1635) were created with the help of polder mills. have brought Middelstum-Boerdamsterweg and The third period is in the 19th century, in which among others the Ezinge to light. Archaeological finds during the Haarlemmermeer (1840-1852) and the IJpolders near Amsterdam were excavation of the mound earth show that Ezinge drained by steam engines. was one of a group of eleven mounds which The fourth period is in the 20th century, in which the vast reclama- developed in parallel and are all on the left bank tions took place within the framework of the Zuiderzee Project. The of the Hunze. Wieringermeerpolder was the first large polder to be drained (1927- In the late Iron Age and Roman times habita- 1930), before the Afsluitdijk was completed (1932). tion expanded strongly and many new mounds There are no large droogmakerijen in the terp district, though a num- developed, particularly along the right bank of ber of small lakes or meres were drained. Examples include the Greate the Hunze, along the edge of the Fivel bay and Wergeastermar (195 ha, drained in 1637), the Huningameer (520 ha, along the Ems. The mounds between Termunten 1666), the Hemsermeerpolder (93 ha, 1784/85), the Wieuwertermeer and Pogum in the German Rheiderland were lost (8 ha,1834), and the Proostmeer (51 ha, 1870). through the penetration of the Dollard. Many newly established flat settlements and low mounds had to be rapidly abandoned. Exam- The landscape today ples have been found in Paddepoel, a district in The marshland region consists mainly of large the north of the town of Groningen. A new gen- open spaces. Large-scale agriculture is practiced eration of mounds appeared on the salt marsh on more recent reclaimed polders which have ridges which had formed through accretion in risen high by accretion, as in North Groningen, the Early Middle Ages to the north of the lower Oldambt and . The rest of the area is reaches of the Hunze, in the Marne region. An given over to grassland. In these large green example of these has also been excavated: the spaces the villages rise like green, enclosed Tuinster Wierde near Leens. Finally in the later islands. Sometimes the mound villages are close Middle Ages a few further house mounds were together, for example on the salt marsh ridges, built in the Fivel region which was then silting but some are very isolated. In the winding ditch- up. es and elongated depressions we can recognize Many mounds were wholly or partially lev- the former channels in the mud flats, from which eled when they were dug up for their rich soil. the fertile clay was formerly removed. The dykes The mound earth was transported by boat along can be seen from a great distance and are valu- the natural watercourses, the former gullies able landmarks, both for orientation in the cur- (sometimes called ‘maren’), or along specially

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Fig. 4.85: Dykes in the Dollard basin, Oldambt excavated canals or widened ditches. The entire In the course of the Late Middle Ages there were region is criss-crossed with waterways, which various storm surges. As said before it’s not sure are important for drainage and have increas- which flood formed the Dollard bay, but most ingly been used for boat tours. probable is a flood in the fifteenth century. The Dollard was at its largest at the beginning of the Oldambt 16th century. When it flooded, the seawater The Oldambt is the region to the south of the penetrated deep into the land via the depres- Dollard. It consists of a few low ridges of boul- sions of the Munter Ee/Oude Geut and the West- der clay and wind-borne sand, separated by val- erwoldse Aa. These two depressions were sepa- ley-shaped depressions. The ridges grow gradu- rated from each other by the low boulder clay ally smaller to the north until they disappear ridge on which Heiligerlee and Winschoten are under the clay deposits of the Dollard. Prehis- located. At the time of the maximum expansion toric relics have been found in places on the sur- of the Dollard this area lay like a peninsula in the face of these ridges: a Bronze Age urnfield in water. It is thus sometimes referred to as the Zuidbroek and the megalith of Heveskesklooster ‘island of Winschoten’. Here lie the elongated vil- from the Neolithic Age, buried under 4 meters of lages of Eexta, Scheemda, Midwolda and Beerta. clay. Some of these villages were previously located The depressions between the boulder clay and more seaward on the peatland. Under the influ- wind-borne sand ridges, as well as the area ence of the advancing sea some of these villages north of it, were previously covered with peat. were moved landward, while other villages com- This peat region was inhabited in the Middle pletely disappeared. Ages, as elsewhere in the Wadden Sea Region. From the 16th century on man began to win The surface was lowered considerably by agricul- back the lost territory. The oldest dyke in the tural use and salt extraction. This decline, com- western depression is the Scheemderhamrik, bined with poor dyke maintenance, gave the sea which dates from 1542. In 1597 the a free hand and many large parts of the region Scheemderzwaag polder was enclosed by dykes. were lost. The area was then reclaimed in seven more

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stages, the most recent reclamation being the extensive , the Fivel bay. At the time Carel Coenraadpolder of 1924. More and more when it was at its largest, the water must have silted up salt marshes were dyked in and added reached past Ten Post. The oldest dwelling to the existing mainland, with the former sea mounds in the area lie in long rows on either side dykes changing into inner dykes. Unfortunately, of this estuary, on the high salt marsh ridges. On many of these old dormant dykes have disap- the western side the series of mounds extends peared. from Lellens to , on the eastern side from Ten Post via Loppersum and Leermens to Spijk Brickworks and Hoogwatum. The Fivel bay began to silt up In many places in the Wadden Sea terp and at the end of the Early Middle Ages, particularly wierde area, clay was extracted for brick- on the western side. A new series of villages dat- making. The technique of baking bricks was ing from that time (from Stedum in the south to introduced by the monasteries. The clay pan Oldorp in the north) shows that people started soil, which was deposited by the sea in the making use of the fertile marshland soil. From lower-lying parts of the marshlands, was an the 12th century onwards the rest of the bay ideal raw material. The clay was dug out, was dyked in, bit by bit, until in 1444 there was worked into the right shape, dried and final- a dyke from Godlinze to the coastal ridge of ly baked in field kilns. Initially only small and , so that the quantities were produced. As yet few build- Fivel bay was no longer subject to the influence ings were made of brick: in the late Middle of the sea. Winding watercourses, which are Ages only monasteries, churches, and manor locally referred to as ‘maar’ and ‘tjariet’, removed houses (‘stinsen’ = brick houses) were built of surplus water from the land. Further land recla- brick. However, gradually more and more mation took place in stages from 1718 (Oost- town houses were built of brick (much polder and Polder Vierburen) to 1944 encouraged by fire regulations) and large- (Emmapolder). The design of these fairly recent scale brick-making began. Permanent brick- polders to the north of Roodeschool and works were founded in which specialist is characterized by a striking pattern brick-makers from Germany played a promi- of roads fanning out to the north, to which the nent role. In addition to the brickworks, busi- layout of the plots is adapted. nesses also sprung up which made roof tiles To the south of the actual Fivel bay there is a and - in the 20th century - drainpipes. A big somewhat lower-lying zone with scattered reorganisation of the brick-making industry dwelling mounds. To the north-west of Delfzijl in the second half of the 20th century led to there were fine villages of such mounds, such as the closure of a large number of firms. Many Marsum and Biessum: radial land-divisions on traces can still be found of this activity, the mound, an ox track at the foot, farms built which was highly characteristic of the terp neatly in a circle along the ox track, radial land- and wierde area. Many of the associated divisions which in part extended beyond the buildings - drying sheds, kilns and chimneys mound. Marsum is still very beautiful, Biessum - have been converted to other uses. has lost much of its attraction now that it is sur- rounded by the new urban developments of Delfzijl. Fivelingo The towns of Appingedam and Delfzijl are also The name ‘Fivelingo’ refers to the area to the located in this low-lying zone. Apart from north-east of the city of Groningen, from the Groningen, Appingedam is the only settlement in Punt van Reide in the east to the area surround- the province which obtained a town charter ing Westernieland, near the former mouth of the (1327). A trade settlement developed on a terp river Hunze. The Fivel and the Hunze were rivers near the first dam in the Delf which flourished in which drained the broad peatlands and the the 13th century. However, the sluice was soon Pleistocene hinterland. The river Munte (now removed to the east and economic activity renamed Termunter Zijldiep), which flows into moved with it to the new discharge point, Delfz- the Dollard near Termunterzijl, also belongs to ijl. In the 16th century Appingedam was eco- this sub-region. Unlike the Munte however, the nomically eclipsed by Delfzijl. Appingedam is Fivel has largely disappeared from the landscape. characterised by the densely-built houses on the In the Early Middle Ages the mouth of the Fivel Damsterdiep, with the backs of the houses pro- was cut away by the sea and changed into an jecting over the deep. Delfzijl was strategically

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Fig. 4.86: Dykes in the north of Groningen

important for military purposes because of its but this was far wider, providing space for a tow- position at the mouth of the Ems. Charles V built path of around 7 meters in width. A drainage a redoubt here as early as 1536, and this became ditch was dug behind the towpath. an important stronghold in the Eighty Years’ Trekschuiten (tow barges) were long narrow War. boats with a covered part with room for 30 to 35 passengers. These barges had a three-man crew. Boat and ship canals The skipper and his hand worked on the boat As the towns grew and industry expanded there itself. The jager (hunter) rode the horse along the was a need for rapid and regular transport. This towpath. The jager was usually a young lad, but led to the introduction of regular barge services had to be over eight years old. sailing from set places at set times to agreed Although by our standards the barges traveled destinations. In the second half of the 17th cen- extremely slowly, it was a fantastic improvement tury there was a seemingly modern network of for the 17th century. Before then people had to through waterways not only in the Western travel by coach, which was not particularly Netherlands, but also in the provinces of Gronin- pleasant on the unpaved roads of the day. Rather gen and Fryslân. Some of these waterways , such the barge anytime! The smooth movement over as the Stroobossertrekvaart (1652), had been the water even made it possible to write letters, newly dug, others were based on existing water- as Nicolaas Beets remarked in his Camera courses, such as the Damsterdiep, which was Obscura. converted into a boat canal in 1650, and the Bolsward boat canal (1648). Reitdiep area The profile of the boat canals in Holland, Frys- The Reitdiep area, sometimes referred to as Hun- lân and Groningen is practically the same singo or the northern , consists of throughout. The breadth at water level was fif- a number of large, old marshlands surrounded by teen to eighteen meters and the depth around the former marine bays. The oldest of these bays two and a half meters. The dredging from the is the estuary of the river Hunze, which into the works were used to erect a narrow quay on one Early Middle Ages flowed to the north-west and side. Another quay was made on the other side, discharged into the sea around Nijenklooster.

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Fig. 4.87: Water management in the Middag-Humsterland area Between 700 and 1000 AD the estuary of the supposed to have had such a ring dyke. The old- Lauwers was formed more westerly, which pene- est continuous sea defense dyke along the North trated the land through a number of channels. Groningen coast was built around 1200. One of these channels adjoined the lower reach- In 1877 a dam was constructed in the Reit- es of the Hunze, causing the Hunze to branch off diep. Until then the ebb and flow had been able to the west and discharge into the Lauwerszee. to reach the town of Groningen. The drainage of The former mouth of the Hunze silted up and the hinterland was controlled by polder boards was finally completely closed off by the salt (zijlvesten). Along the course of the Reitdiep marsh ridge of and Westernieland. they built a series of dyke locks (zijlen): along the The rivers Drentse A, Eelderdiep, Peizerdiep en left bank the Kommerzijl and the Aduarderzijlen, Wolddiep (Oude Diep) which still flowed from into which the Aduard Deep - dug by the the Drenthe plateau, now became left branches Aduarder monks in the 14th century - dis- of the Reitdiep - as the Hunze below Groningen charged, and along the right bank the was called from that time. Wetsingerzijl, the Schaphalsterzijlen, the In this sub-region of the Groningen marshland Schouwerzijl and the . The preserved area dyke building also began with the construc- locks are a monument to the constant efforts tion of ring dykes around groups of villages. Such which had to be made in the past to keep the dykes were laid around the nuclei of Middag and water under control. Often the fine lock houses Humsterland in the 11th or 12th century. The (‘zijlhuizen’) where the ‘zijlwaarder’ or lock keep- Marne area, to the north of the Reitdiep, is also er lived, are preserved too.

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Nowadays the old nuclei, Middag, Humsterland and the southern part of Marne, are part of a Land reclamation small-scale landscape with small villages, pas- The deposition of silt on the salt marshes tures and irregular plots. Numerous depressions against the sea dyke was promoted by spe- indicate the course of the old channels. To the cific measures, so the salt marsh reached the north the land division becomes increasingly required height more rapidly, and could be regular. There is a clear difference between the made into a polder. Two methods were used. old marshland nuclei and the later salt marsh The farmers’ method was used from the ridge of Pieterburen and Westernieland, which is beginning of the 19th century. In this expressed mainly in the way the land is divided method, pits were dug in the salt marsh to into plots. The polders reclaimed from the sea in catch the silt. When the pits were full the silt the last centuries are even more regular and was distributed over the marsh and the pro- encircle the older land. Particularly where the cess could be repeated, just until the salt polders form connecting layers and the dykes are marsh was high enough. In the 1930s anoth- preserved, a very typical landscape has come er method was adopted: the ‘Schleswig-Hol- into being which is in stark contrast to the stein method’. Here the salt marsh was divid- dwelling mound landscape behind it. ed into settlement fields of roughly 400 by 400 meters, which were surrounded by earth Lauwerszee area embankments or brushwood screens. Ditches On the map the former, as yet undammed Lauw- were dug in the fields perpendicular to the erszee looks a little like the body of a squid, with coast into which the silt could settle. Once or the tentacles formed by the rivers that flow into twice a year the silt was shoveled out of the it. The Rietdiep discharges into the Lauwerszee ditches and spread over the salt marsh. near Zoutkamp, the river Lauwers near Munnikezijl, the Dokkumer Ee at the Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen and the Zuider Ee at Ezumazijl. After the damming of the Reitdiep in 1877 4.5.5.2 Fryslân sluices were also built near Zoutkamp. The water of the Lauwers now entered the Lauwerszee via The marshland area in the province of Fryslân, the Friese Sluis, the Provinciale Sluis served the between the Lauwerszee and the IJsselmeer, is Reitdiep and the Hunsingosluis formed the link divided in two by the former Middelzee. This for- with the Canal. When we also consid- mer bay is in fact the estuary of the Boorne, a er that there is a further sluice complex within river which runs from the edge of the Drenthe the enclosing dam of the Lauwerszee, it becomes plateau. It forms a boundary between two sub- clear that the Lauwerszee area is characterized regions Oostergo and Westergo. Important areas by an abundance of hydraulic engineering works. within these old marshland areas are the depres- The old marine bay, which came into being in the sion of the Dokkumer Ee in Oostergo and the Early Middle Ages, was closed off from the Wad- Marne, a former marine bay in Westergo. den Sea by a dam in 1969. Since then the water The marshland area gradually gives way to the level in the newly created Lauwersmeer has been flat hinterlands covered with vast peatlands, in kept at 1 meter below NAP (Amsterdam Ord- which also a number of low-lying parallel ridges nance Datum). As a result former salt marshes of boulder clay and wind-borne sand can be dis- and sandbars were drained. Part of the area has cerned. The ridges are oriented northeast-south- been given over to agriculture, part is in use as west, as in Groningen and Ostfriesland. One of military training area while the rest is forest and these ridges, directly to the south of the upper nature area. A new port has been created near reaches of the Boorne, continues a long way to the sluices, which took over the role of the for- the southwest and ends in a considerable out- mer fishing harbor of Zoutkamp. Next to the new crop, rising to more than ten meters above NAP. port the youngest village in the Netherlands, This outcrop is Gaasterland, which lies like an , has developed. island in the peat land. In geological terms Gaasterland is comparable to the Pleistocene boulder clay islands of Wieringen and Texel, but it has never been entirely surrounded by sea, although a cliff coast was formed on the south side following the incursion of the Zuiderzee.

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As in the Groningen marshland area, the oldest While the town of Groningen, located on the settlements in the Frisian area date back to the Hondsrug, became an important political and early Iron Age. This applies both to the central economic center for the Groningen mound dis- areas of Westergo and to the northern part of trict, in the Frisian mound district this role was Oostergo. In this last area a few very high fulfilled by towns which grew up in the mound mounds were created. Hogebeintum, at almost 9 district itself. The most important are Dokkum meters, is the highest mound in the entire Wad- and Leeuwarden in Oostergo, and Franeker and den Sea Region. The Frisian region also saw a Bolsward in Westergo. Next to these towns grew broad expansion of habitation in the late Iron up along waterways in the adjoining peat lands Age and Roman times as well as colonization of such as Sneek and IJlst, or on the Zuiderzee the newly reclaimed salt marsh ridges in the coast, such as Harlingen, , northern part of Westergo in the Early Middle and . Ages. Differences in the physical condition and in Oostergo the history of habitation made that there are The marshland area of Oostergo is a 10 - 15 km strong contrasts within Fryslân in the appear- wide zone, which lies in a great arc around the ance of the mound landscape. The relatively far- boulder clay and wind-borne sand landscape of flung high mounds on the curved salt marsh the Frisian forests. On a fairly high salt-marsh ridge in northern Oostergo contrast sharply with ridge along the current sea dyke and the former the far more dense network of scattered, largely Middelzee lies a spectacular series of mound vil- low mounds in central Westergo and the strings lages from Leeuwarden to . These are of low mounds on the salt marsh ridges of north- villages of a reasonable size, set about 2 to 3 km ern Westergo. apart. Their relatively high position means that Some mounds are built in an elongated shape, the salt marsh ridge is mainly used for arable which can also be seen in a few German trading farming. To the east of Ternaard the salt marsh mounds. Holwerd is one such. In this context ridge is less striking, but even here there are vil- Oldeboorn is also interesting: it lies on the lages on the ridge, which veers off to the south Boorne, and may well have played an important in a gentle curve. role in the colonization of the peatlands The land divisions on the ridge are fairly regu- upstream. lar and are not dissimilar to those of the more In the Frisian mound district too, dyke building recent reclamations, which lie like a narrow shell began with ring dykes to protect houses, live- abutting the old land. To the southeast the land stock and arable land. The ‘mother polders’ in is lower-lying. The villages here are smaller and Westergo are probably the oldest polders in the the mounds rise strikingly out of the landscape. world, if we disregard the small embanked areas The pattern of land division formerly showed from the pre-Roman era. The oldest continuous irregular blocks, but reallocation schemes in sea dykes date from around 1100. The southern recent decades have spared only small parts of part of the Middelzee, in-between Oostergo and the original layout. This area is used largely as Westergo, was already poldered in the Late Mid- grassland. In the depressions we find traces of dle Ages. The most recent polders, collectively natural watercourses: the Dokkumer Ee, forming Het Bildt, date from post-1500. They are Dokkumer Grootdiep, Zuider Ee and . laid out in very regular patterns. From the Dokkumer Ee, which previously formed While the entire North Groningen coast, an important link between Leeuwarden and except along the Ems, is surrounded by layers Dokkum, various access ways lead to the differ- of several recent polders, this is far less com- ent mound villages in the north and to the vil- mon in Fryslân. Here the mound district lages on the edge of the sandy area. stretches in various places as far as the current Two of the settlements in Oostergo grew into sea dyke, as in Oostergo near Paesens and towns: Dokkum and Leeuwarden. Dokkum is Wierum and in Westergo in the whole area known primarily for the fact that St. Boniface between Harlingen and Makkum. Where recent was murdered there. The veneration of this saint polders exist, the polders directly adjoin the has over the centuries brought many pilgrims to villages and are no more than one and a half the site of his martyrdom. The town flourished kilometers deep. The oldest dyke trace often on trade from its favorable position at the mouth formed a direct link between the mounds or of the Dokkumer Ee. The typical hexagonal shape was not far outside them. of the town center emerged in 1582, when ram-

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parts were erected in great haste. Fryslân had aligned itself in 1580 with the insurgent ramparts. In the green belt which thus arose provinces, while Groningen remained Spanish around the town, provisions were also made until 1594. Shortly after that, in 1583, a sluice for building works which were then sorely was built which still occupies a striking place in needed. In 1830 Roodbaard drew up the the center of the town. Later new locks were design for the Municipal Cemetery on Span- built 10 kilometers to the east of Dokkum: jaardslaan. His plan was implemented in the Dokkumernieuwezijlen (Dokkum new locks). The next few years with a few adjustments. The gates were broken off the defences, but the ram- cemetery was given the aura of a park parts are largely in tact. The eastern bulwark was through a romantic, pseudo-natural layout. transformed into a public garden in the 19th The commendations received at the time century. indicate that Roodbaard’s design was a great Leeuwarden grew up where the river Ee, that success. Shortly afterwards Roodbaard also formerly discharged into the Middelzee. The lay- designed a promenading park on the former out of the town is still determined by the course graveyard in the Oldehoofsterkerkhof (Olde- of the Ee and by the three mounds from which hoofst churchyard). the town grew. As early as the 11th century, Around the same period, Roodbaard also Leeuwarden was an important center of trade, worked on private gardens in and beyond manifest in the fact that it obtained mintage Leeuwarden. Roodbaard had a good reputa- rights. The town gradually expanded and devel- tion, not only in Fryslân, but also elsewhere. oped into the capital town of the province. This The Frisian nobility in particular had the gar- is seen most clearly in the many secular build- dens for their country seats designed by ings, such as the Stadhouderlijke Hof (Statehold- Roodbaard. He thus gave shape to Beet- er’s Court), the chancellery, the weigh house and sterzwaag, Oranjewoud, Wolvega, Oentsjerk the town hall. And of course the Provinciehuis or and Hoogbeintum, among others. Outside county hall. In 1580, during the Reformation, the Fryslân a further three gardens were made to residence of the abbot of the Bergum monastery his designs in Appingedam, Paterswolde and was confiscated and was converted in the State near Assen. Roodbaard died in 1851 at the Room, where the provincial government since age of 69. His name however lives on in his that day meets. unique designs.

Roodbaard A man who put his own special stamp on the Middelzee wierde and mound district was the landscape The Middelzee was the estuary of the river architect Lucas Pieters Roodbaard. Rood- Boorne, which probably already existed around baard designed dozens of parks and gardens 500 BC, but gradually spread out further and in the north of the Netherlands. He was born further inland. It formed the boundary between in 1782 in Rolde, Drenthe. His father worked the districts we now know as Oostergo and as a gardener in Assen and the young Rood- Westergo. Around the year 1000 a western baard followed in his footsteps. He developed branch in the neighborhood of Bolsward linked a very original style of landscape architec- up with another estuary that came from the ture, in which the forms of the English land- west, the Marne. Westergo was then entirely scape style were combined with the features enclosed by water, or at least by salt marshes of the original landscape. The gardens of which were flooded at high tide. Roodbaard and his followers in Groningen The ring dykes of Oostergo and Westergo came were known as ‘slingertuinen’ (garland gar- into being in the 11th century, and at the same dens). In 1819 Roodbaard and another land- time the Middelzee began to silt up. Bit by bit scape architect were commissioned to draw the old tidal inlet was embanked and the up designs for the prince’s garden in reclaimed land converted into farmland. To the Leeuwarden. This beautiful garden had been east of Bolsward, where the former Middelzee given to the town a few years before by widened, the new village of (Newland) William I on the condition that the garden grew up in the new polder. Further to the north would be maintained. Around 1824 Rood- the Middelzee was narrower and the reclaimed baard went to live in Leeuwarden and was land was used by the villagers on the adjoining involved in plans to landscape the ageing ‘old land’. In the embanked Middelzee a ditch

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was dug to form a boundary between Oostergo Farms were built along the roads, which formed and Westergo: the Zwette. In later times the a rectangular pattern. Along the sea dyke habi- Zwette was widened to become a boat canal tation arose in Oude Bildtzijl and Nij Altoenae. between Sneek and Leeuwarden. The next step was the building of the Nieuwe At the end of the 13th century the inlet had Bildtdijk (also called the third sea dyke) in 1600. been impoldered as far as the Bildtdijk/Skrédyk It is noteworthy that the farms in this newly (between Beetgum and Britsum) and taken into reclaimed area are mainly in the center of the agricultural use. The marshland area to the north polder, with access roads linked to the through of the dyke continued to silt up and in 1505 the road on the Oude Bildtdijk. The construction of Oude Bildtdijk was erected, reclaiming a good the Poldijk (1715) and the Noorderleegdijk 5000 hectares of agricultural land from the sea. (1754) were the last stages in the reclamation of Three villages were founded (Sint Annaparochie, the Middelzee. Sint Jacobiparochie and Vrouwenparochie). The The creation of polders and the continuing new inhabitants came for the greater part from silting up of the salt marshes meant that adjust- outside the region, which explains the difference ments had to be made to the drainage systems. between the Bildt dialect and the elsewhere spo- Het Bildt originally drained into the sea via a ken Frisian language. The land was divided in a sluice in the Oude Rijd near Oude Bildtzijl. In fairly rational way, though still far less strictly 1600 a sluice was built in the Nieuwe Bildtdijk than the old Mastenbroek polder near Zwolle (at Nieuwe Bildtzijl), but even in 1655 there and the later reclamations in Noord-Holland. were already drainage problems due to the high-

Fig.4.88: Water management in Middelzee and Westergo

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ly silted up salt marshes. After that the water was for centuries carried off via the old land of Under pressure from his persecutors, Men- Westergo and Oostergo, until a pumping station no had to lead a wandering life. He lived for was built at the Zwarte Haan in 1970 to dis- a time in Cologne and in Wismar on the charge the superfluous rainfall. Baltic, but he was continually forced to flee. A peculiar feature of both the Oude and He also returned to Fryslân from time to Nieuwe Bildtdijk is that the - often monumental time. Finally, in 1554 Menno found refuge in - farms are on the south side, at the foot of the Wüstenfelde, near Oldesloo, halfway dyke, while the workers’ housing was built on between Hamburg and Lübeck on the Fresen- top of the dyke, on the north side of the road. burg estate of Graaf Von Ahlefeldt. Nearby was the Mennokate, a small house where he had his printing press. He died in 1561. In the garden behind the Mennonites Mennokate is a stone bearing a plaque which The many Baptist Chapels are significant ele- reads: ments in our cultural heritage. The churches Hier lebte, lehrte und starb Menno Simons, of the followers of Menno Simons (Baptists in demuth fromm und still. (Here lived, taught or Mennonites) can be found in many places and died Menno Simons, in humility devout in the Wadden Sea Region. According to their and quiet) article of faith, Baptists could not fulfill any role in government, and refused to take oaths In the early days of the Baptist faith in the or carry weapons. This meant that there were Netherlands many adherents were persecut- numerous jobs they could not do, and forced ed and put to death for their faith. They met them largely into the liberal professions. in secret in remote places in the middle of There was however plenty of scope for peo- meadows and sometimes on boats. Naturally ple in the liberal professions in the Wadden there are no churches remaining from the Sea Region in the 17th and 18th centuries. earliest days of the Baptists. They did not The Baptists became craftsmen, artists, dare to build them. Even when the worst of traders, textile merchants, brewers and even- the persecutions stopped, Baptists were still tually even bankers. We find Mennonite not allowed to build churches which could be chapels on almost all of the islands, such as recognized from outside. They had to look the handsome examples in Hippolytushoef like ordinary dwelling houses, preferably (Wieringen), Den Burg and Oosterend (Texel). away from the street, and they must not But Fryslân is of course the real home of the have towers or steeples. The Baptists in the denomination. Netherlands did not receive civil rights until Menno Simons was born in 1496, the son the advent of the French in 1795. One of the of a farmer in the Frisian village of Witmar- most typical churches-in-hiding is Menno’s sum13. He lived in very turbulent times. Frys- Formanje (Chapel) at . There is noth- lân was ravaged by political unrest and acts ing to distinguish this church from a dwelling of war. Menno came fairly late to the calling house on the street. It dates from around of priest. He was already 28 years old when 1600. he was ordained as a priest in Cathe- dral. Menno Simons took the post of curate in the village of Pingjum. In 1532 he moved Westergo from Pingjum to Witmarsum where he was Westergo is the most extensive part of the parish priest. marshland region of the Netherlands. It is not Menno Simons began to doubt Roman surprising that it also has the most mounds. The Catholic doctrine concerning the Commu- structure of the landscape in Westergo is largely nion. Through contacts with Baptists he determined by the former bays, channels and began to immerse himself in the sacrament depressions. The Middelzee used to form the of baptism. He could find no basis in the eastern boundary of Westergo. It connected with bible for the baptism of children. On 31 Jan- the Marne in the neighborhood of Bolsward. The uary 1536 he left the presbytery and joined Marne was a channel which already existed in the Baptists. Roman times. Then the channel formed part of the drainage system of the Flevomeer. Although

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Fig. 4.89: Dwelling mounds in Westergo

the Vlie took over this role in the Early Middle While the southern part of Westergo is charac- Ages, the Marne was still an important channel. terized by a fairly random distribution of To the north of these two estuaries lies the mounds, the distribution in the northern part is core area of Westergo. Here too are the oldest more ordered. Here the mounds are set out in mounds. Some are situated on the salt marsh handsome rows, which coincide with the pres- ridges of the Marne, the Middelzee or the small- ence of salt marsh ridges that grew up at various er branch channels which penetrated the area at stages of the development of the salt marsh. The intervals. Others dwelling mounds, such as the oldest series of mounds is found between Win- mound of Jorwerd, the village made famous by sum and Menaldum, on a ridge along a very old the writer Geert Mak, lie in the middle of the flat channel which was active around 1000 BC, even land of the salt mark basins. The landscape is before the Middelzee was formed. The settle- characterized by wide open spaces, with an ments on the ridges of Tzum-Hitzum, to the occasional village or farm. The land is used south of Franeker, date from the fourth and third chiefly as grassland, the land divisions are fanci- centuries BC. The line of settlements Harlingen- ful and the plots often still show small variations Franeker-Peins-Menaldum dates from the last in height (micro-relief). This area has not been as century BC. The mounds on the ridge Wijnal- strongly affected by re-allotment projects as for dum-Dongjum-Ried-Berlikum were created two instance Oostergo. hundred years later. This is the ridge on which Through roads existed only on the salt marsh the most northerly villages of Westergo are situ- ridges; for a long time traffic by water was far ated: Sexbierum-Tzummarum-Minnertsga. The more important. The area is criss-crossed by mounds date from the 6th-7th centuries AD. numerous waterways, many with whimsical The most northerly lying ridges are the high- courses because they followed the course of est, as they silted up longest. The majority of existing channels and depressions. In the 17th arable farming takes place on the northernmost century a number of sailing channels were con- salt marsh ridge, while the lower-lying basins verted into boat or ship canals: the Franeker boat between the salt marsh ridges are mainly used as canal and the Bolswarder boat canal in 1648 are grassland. examples. The Sneeker boat canal (1652) was One of the most striking historical features in created in the former Middelzee, by widening Westergo is the dyke system. The assortment, the Zwette. age and function of the dykes is very varied.

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There are still parts left of the old ring dykes this part of Westergo also some small ‘droog- around the ‘mother polders’, of the dykes along makerijen’ can be found. the Middelzee and the Marne, of the famous Outside the dykes are several former salt ‘Pingjumer Gulden Halsband’ and the Vijf Delen marshes, the development of which was arrested Slachte dijk, and last but not least, occasionally by the closure of the Zuiderzee. Parts of these submerged dykes dating from the pre-Roman era are furnished with embankments and are now are discovered. used for agriculture (Makkumer Zuidwaard, The town of Franeker, still lying within its Polder Geele ), others are unembanked 17th century bulwarks, is renowned for its Fryske (Kooiwaard, Makkumer Noordwaard). Akademy, the university founded in 1585. In 1811 the academy was closed down by 4.5.5.3 Noord-Holland Napoleon, but in the 17th century this educa- tional institution was more important than those It is difficult to draw the boundary of the Wad- of Utrecht and Groningen. The academy was den Sea Region in Noord-Holland, as the area of accommodated in the former Kruisbroeders marine clays, deposited by the North Sea, con- monastery. tinues quite far south. The southern boundary of Harlingen flourished thanks to its port and the Wadden Sea Region has been chosen where shipyards. Originally the port consisted only of the Zijpe- en Hazepolder meets the old dyke the current Noorderhaven (North Harbor), but around Westfriesland (Westfriese omringdijk). the Zuiderhaven (South Harbor) was dug in Consequently the mound district of Schagen and 1597. This was necessary since Harlingen had Barsingerhorn is excluded, while the Groet pold- become a wartime naval port. In 1644 the admi- er falls within the described area. The Zuiderzee- ralty also moved from Dokkum to Harlingen.In polder has also been excluded. the 19th century the Wilhelmshaven (1852) and After the Roman period the entire northern- the Nieuwe Willemshaven (1877) were built. Of most part of Noord-Holland was covered by peat the two old ports, the Noorderhaven is the more bog14. Only the hills of Texel and Wieringen rose impressive, with fine warehouses, sluices and above it. The bog was sheltered by the coastal other historical buildings. barrier, which lay a few kilometers to the west of Bolsward was an important market and trad- the current coastline. The peat bog drained in an ing center even in the Carolingian era. The town easterly direction via the Marsdiep, which was grew up on two mounds: a large, elongated then still a small tributary of the Vlie. mound to the south of the current main street The occupation of the peatlands took place and a smaller mound where the splendid Sint from the areas which were inhabited during the Maartenskerk now stands. According to an Merovingian period: the present islands of Texel inscription on the town hall it was built in 1616, and Wieringen and probably the old dunes south and it also notes that this was 901 years after of the Rekere, which have now disappeared into the founding of the town. The Sint Maartenskerk the sea. The first habitation of the moorland, still was the mother church of Westergo. It was one in Merovingian times, is found along the Mars- of the oldest churches established in Fryslân. The diep, the Rekere and along a moorland river in current church building dates from the middle of the vicinity of the present town of Medemblik, the 15th century, but it had wooden and tuff called the Middenleek. In the Carolingian period stone predecessors. there were four large centers of habitation: Tex- The mound district to the west of Sneek, which el, Wieringen, northern Westfriesland (between does not actually belong to Westergo, is charac- Andijk and Medemblik) and the Geestmeram- terized by a large number of small mound vil- bacht (between Schagen and Warmenhuizen), lages and hamlets. In the east this area merges and a smaller one in the vicinity of Den Helder. into the moorland region of the Frisian lakes, in The now lost old dune landscape may also have the south lie the Pleistocene boulder clay hills of been inhabited, as at that time the coastline Gaasterland. between Bergen and Texel was still closed. Not only the villages are small, but so are the Only later was the offshore bar between old towns of Staveren, Hindeloopen and Bergen and Texel broken at several places by the Workum. Zijpe, the Heersdiep and a tidal inlet to the south The landscape in this area is very open and of Texel, which would later link up with the spacious and given over entirely to grassland. In Marsdiep. Between the newly created inlets north of Schoorl, largely to the west of the pre-

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Fig. 4.90: Water management in the north of Noord-Holland

sent coastline, then lay the islands of Callandsoog tants to the marine environment. The circum- and Huisduinen. Behind these islands an area of stances of the finds are so unusual that the mud flats extended, on which much sand was Groetpolder is being considered by the Dutch deposited through the inlets. These sand deposits Government for an inscription in the World Her- now lie at the surface of the Koegras polder and itage List. elsewhere. In the 16th century the Zijpe and the Several attempts were made to reclaim the Heersdiep inlets filled up with sand. Only the area of mud flats behind the sea inlet of the Marsdiep continued to exist as an inlet and Zijpe. In 1597 they finally succeeded, and around became wider and deeper. This was increasingly 6,500 hectares of sandy soil in the Zijpe and important for shipping and thus had strategic Haze polders could be brought into agricultural importance, manifest in the 16th century use. The way the polder is organized is magnifi- redoubts constructed on either side of the deep, cent. The elongated space is divided lengthwise on Texel and in Den Helder. by three axes, along which farms have been Traces of habitation from the Neolithic Age built. The eastern axis is formed by the Groote have been found in the Groetpolder, the Zijpe- Sloot (Large Ditch) and is also the most historic, polder and the Hazepolder. These valuable not least because of the many fine ‘cloche’ farm- archaeological sites consist of settlements from houses. The Noord-Holland Canal, created in the Beaker Culture and the Single-grave Culture. 1819-1825, fits perfectly into the pattern and The sites of the finds are exceptionally important runs midway between the central (Ruige Weg) because of the adaptations of the then inhabi- and western (Belkmerweg) axes. The polder is

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rationally divided with fairly large, rectangular plots. Some east-west roads, at right angles to Windmills the three main axes, forge the link between the Mills are such a natural part of the Dutch dunes and the ‘old land’ of West Fryslân. Along landscape that we can scarcely imagine a these roads, on the intersections with the Groote time when they were not there. Yet the first Sloot and the Noord-Holland Canal, lie the vil- references to mills, at least wind-powered lages. The naming of the villages is fairly consis- mills, only date back to the 13th century. tent: the villages on the Groote Sloot end in Generally the topic is the wind right granted ‘brug’ (bridge), those on the canal end in ‘vlot- by the ruler to the miller. These first refer- brug’ (floating or pontoon bridge). Near Sint ences all related to grain mills. The hollow Maarten, in West-Fryslân, moving westwards, post mill was invented around 1300. A smock we come in succession to: Sint Maarten, Sint mill is a mill in which the entire housing Maartensbrug and Sint Maartensvlotbrug. The could rotate around a pivot, so that the mill most recent addition is the holiday village of Sint could always be adjusted to catch the wind. Maartenszee. The first polder (draining) mills or wind- North of the Zijpepolder lies the Koegras Pold- and-water mills are mentioned in 1408, in er or Buitenveld (4000 ha), reclaimed in 1817, the district of Alkmaar. Another stage of just before the construction of the Noord-Hol- development was the smock mill. In this mill land Canal, which forms the boundary between only the upper part, to which the sails are this polder and the Anna Paulownapolder of attached, is set to the wind. In the first half 1847. This last polder consists of an east and of the 15th century smock mills were already west polder, divided by the Oude Veer, an old being used to drain polders, but Leeghwater marshland channel. Both polders have a rational made significant improvements to the design layout, the most striking feature being the large to make them more suitable for the drainage rectangular plots in the Koegras polder. The of polders. From the 17th century onwards Waard and Groetpolders dating from 1844 echo polder mills were built everywhere in the this pattern; by contrast the 17th century marshland area inside the dykes. Often these Wieringerwaard is plotted into smaller-scale, were small but prominent mills which we call strips of land. This region of Noord-Holland ‘spinnekoppen’ (spider mills). nowadays is famed for its colourfull bulb-fields. Later further small refinements were made The town of Den Helder lies at the northern- to the drainage system by the tjasker, a small most point of the mainland of Noord-Holland. mill for small polders, and the sturdy Ameri- This has been a naval port since 1781. Originally can windmill, also called the windmotor, its arsenal consisted only of batteries, which which was introduced into the Wadden Sea commanded the coast. In the French era, the Region at the start of the 20th century. land side was also defended. In the period 1811- 1813 extensive defensive works were construct- ed: Fort Lasalle (later renamed Fort Erfprins), and further south Fort Morland (Kijkduin) and Fort 4.5.6 The peatlands l’Ecluse (Dirks Admiraal). Once the Noord-Hol- land Canal was finished the forts of Westoever To feed the fast-growing population of the Wad- and Oostoever were built. In later times new den Sea Region in the Carolingian era, people defenses were added, such as bunkers. started to open up the peat bogs situated Den Helder nowadays has incorporated the old between the marshlands and the higher sandy fishing village of Huisduinen. ground. In order to bring these saturated bogs into use the land first had to be drained. For that purpose parallel ditches were dug close togeth- er, from an existing watercourse to deep in the peat bog (creating long, narrow plots). Much water was removed from the peatlands through the ditches, the groundwater level dropped and the soil dried out so that in the course of time it could even be used for arable farming. There were two distinct forms of land use. On the one hand cultivated blocks, which are very

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regular and rectilinear. These contrast strongly that is still left. Others will stress the importance with the irregular nature of the adjoining of the authenticity of the landscape, which dwelling mound area. Authorities clearly had a immediately will start a discussion about the considerable say in these works. On the other question what is meant by authenticity. And hand there are small-scale, irregular patches finally, a criterion to evaluate can be the percep- where the peat bog was brought into use. Clear- tion of the cultural landscape. ly in these cases it was individuals or small A lot of criteria to describe the quality of the groups of colonists who took the initiative to landscape can be given, but a solid and unques- exploit the peat bog, and who used a natural tioned method to evaluate the landscape has - watercourse to drain, open up and exploit a part till so far - never been produced. of the peat bog. Here there is none of the regu- When preparing the Belvedere Memorandum - larity of rectilinear patterns of the larger a policy plan by the Dutch government, which planned peat bog developments. The plots are deals with cultural heritage and spatial planning narrow and elongated. - an attempt has been made to map the quality The development and drainage of the peat of the cultural landscape in the Netherlands. bogs caused the surface to sink until such time Being aware of the difficulties involved, it was as the peat area was so low-lying, that the pold- decided to present different evaluation maps: er water began to pose a real problem. The area one representing the archaeology, another repre- became so wet that the farmers had to leave. senting the historical-geographical features and During heavy storm tides the sea could again a third representing monumental towns, villages penetrate and damage the area. and estates. These maps are presented here, as far as they concern the Wadden Sea Region. A 4.5.7 The quality of the cultural fourth map is added, depicting the ‘openness’ of landscape in the Dutch the landscape; not a quality map in the strict Wadden Sea Region. sense, but anyhow a map that represents an important aspect of the landscape in the region. What then is the quality of the cultural land- It’s not well possible just to ‘add up’ these scape in the Dutch Wadden Sea Region? And maps in order to decide which regions have the which areas are the most important ones, seen highest quality. Doing so would not be a solid from a cultural-historic and landscape point of and scientifically accepted evaluation. Neverthe- view? Is Vlieland of greater value than Schier- less, the question of the quality of the cultural monnikoog; has Westergo a higher quality than landscape might yet be answered by the Trilater- Oldambt? To these questions, many answers can al Wadden Sea Plan, where it states that: „the be given. And with each answer given, dispute cultural-historic and landscape heritage and the will arise and new questions will be posed. diversity between the regions are essential for Because the answer to what is of importance, the comprehension of the area’s development depends on what is seen as being important, e.g. and identity and the inhabitants’ identification what criterion is being valued as the most with the landscape“. Because that’s what it is all important. Some will say that ‘age’ is an impor- about, when we discuss the quality of the land- tant criterion (‘the older, the better’), while oth- scape: a distinctive character and identity. And ers will stress the rarity of elements (‘the only also: everywhere just a little bit different. This is one in the region’). Or should we give priority to exactly what makes the Wadden Sea Region, up the most characteristic elements (‘farms of the to its’ remotest districts, to a unique cultural stolp type ‘belong to’ Noord-Holland’) or rather landscape of exceptional quality. the rate of conservation (‘well conserved versus decayed’). Another criterion can be the spatial context of elements in the physical landscape (‘dwelling mounds aligned on a salt marsh ridge’) or the functional cohesion of different objects (‘harbor-lighthouse-commodore’s houses’). Fur- thermore, one may emphasize the presence of all elements that once were representative for a stage in the regions cultural history (‘polder mills and wind turbines both represent a stage in the development of the landscape’) or the amount

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Notes: 4.5.8 References 1 Taken from an essay by G.J. Borger and H.T. Waterbolk, Abrahamse, Jan, Wouter Joenje & Noortje van Leeuwen-Seelt 1999. De Waddenzeeregio -een uniek cultuurlandschap (The (eds.), 1976. Waddenzee, natuurgebied van Nederland, Duit- Wadden Sea Region - a unique cultural landscape). sland en Denemarken. Landelijke vereniging tot behoud van 2 In 1932 the Minister of Public Works announced that the de Waddenzee/Vereniging tot behoud van natuurmonu- part of the Zuiderzee to the north of the Afsluitdijk would menten in Nederland. henceforth be known as the Wadden Sea (J.T. Bremer: van Abrahamse, Jan (ed.), 2001. Noorderbreedte 25/2, the- Zuiderzee tot Waddenzee, 1996). manummer Terpen en Wierden. 3 A dwelling mounds is called terp in Fryslân, wierde in Baas, Henk & Paul Jacobs (eds.), 2000. Van knuppelpad tot Groningen and werf in Noord-Holland. galgenberg. Werken aan cultuurhistorische en aardkundige 4 Kooi, P.B., 1988. Leven langs de Fivel, van Helwerd tot landschapselementen. Landschapsbeheer Nederland. Zwart Lap. (Life along the Fivel, from Helwerd to Zwart Lap) Barends, S. et al., 1991. Het Nederlandse Landschap. Een his- In: M. Bierma et al., 1988. Terpen en wierden in het Fries- torisch-geografische benadering. Groningse kustgebied (Terps and wierdes on the Frisian- Groningen coast). Besteman, Jan, 1997. Vikingen in Noord-Holland? Archeolo- gische publicatie Noord-Holland nr. 1. 5 Frank Westerman,1999. De graanrepubliek.(The grain republic) Amsterdam/Antwerpen. Borger, G.J. & H.T. Waterbolk, 1999. De Waddenzee - een uniek cultuurlandschap. Essay (niet gepubliceerd). 6 Jan Besteman, 1997. Vikingen in Noord-Holland? (Vikings in Noord-Holland?) Noord-Holland Province Archeological Bremer, J.T., 1996. Van Zuiderzee tot Waddenzee. publication, no. 1. Buisman, J., 1975. Nederland zoals het was, zoals het is. 7 This text draws with gratitude on research into decoy and Chouchena, Daphnée & Hans van Rossum, 1999. Enig in zijn cage operation in the Wadden Sea Region by J.J.H.G.D. soort. Werelderfgoed en Nederlands beleid. RIGO Research en Karelse, carried out at the request of Lancewad Nederland. Advies B.V. 8 Written statement, J.T. Bremer, 2001. Coeterier, J.F., A.E. Buijs & M..B. Schöne, 1997. Waarden van 9 Although the Frisian word ‘terp’ is now commonly used as de wadden. Belevingsonderzoek in het Waddengebied. DLO- a name for a dwelling mounds in the marshland area, the Staring Centrum, rapport 569. term ‘wierde’, which is used in Groningen, is historically more CWSS, 1998. Verklaring van Stade/Trilaterale Waddenzee correct. It is derived from the old Frisian word ‘wir’, which Plan. Ministeriële Verklaring van de Achtste Trilaterale means height. As well as in the word ‘wierde’ we also find Regeringsconferentie over de Bescherming van de Wadden- this root in names used elsewhere in the coastal area: werf, zee; Stade, 22 oktober 1997. warf, wurt. ‘Terp’ is the Frisian word for ‘village’. Dockum, Saskia & Arne Haytsma (eds.), 1997. Archeologische 10 Schroor, Meindert, 2000. Van Middelzee tot Bildt. Lan- Monumenten in Nederland. Rijksdienst voor het Oudheid- daanwinning in Fryslân in de Middeleeuwen en de vroeg- kundig Bodemonderzoek. moderne tijd. (From Middelzee to Bildt. Land reclamation in Fryslân in the Middle Ages and the early modern era) Duin, R.H.A. e.a., 1984. Het Zuiderzeeprojekt in zakformaat. Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders. 11 Griede, J.W., 1978. Het ontstaan van Fryslâns noordoost- hoek. Dissertatie. (The development of Fryslân’s northeastern Genders, Charles, 1979. Monumenten van bedijf en techniek corner. Disseration). in beeld. 12 Schulz, E., 1992. Waterbeheersing in de Nederlandse Griede, J.W., 1978. Het ontstaan van noordoost- droogmakerijen. Dissertatie, (Water Management in Dutch hoek. Dissertatie. Reclaimed Land. Disseration) Delft. Haartsen, Adriaan & Joke Lenten, Cultuurhistorische Waar- 13 Adapted freely from: Het Spoor van Menno Simons. Een denkaart Noord-Holland. De cultuurhistorie van West-Fries- wandeling langs doopsgezinde gedenktekens in Witmarsum land. Haarlem 2001 en Pingjum. (On the trail of Menno Simons. A walk around Halbertsma, H., Frieslands oudheid. Het rijk van de Friese the Baptist monumnets in Witmarsum and Pingjum). koningen, opkomst en ondergang. Utrecht, 2000 http//home.planet.nl/~wunsnet/menno.htm Hendrikx, J.A., z.j. Traditionele boerderijen in Nederland. IKC- 14 Schoorl, Henk, 1999. De Convexe Kustboog. Deel 1: Het NBLF. westelijk Waddengebied en het eiland Texel tot circa 1550. Hosper, Ultsje, Peter Karstkarel & Siem van der Woude, De (The Convex Bow of the Coast. Part 1: The western Wadden Slachte. Ljouwert, 2001 Sea Region and the island of Texel to ca 1550) Jansen, Hennie, 2000. Het landschap van „De andere kant van het Wad“ in overheidsnota’s. Waddenvereniging. Kooi, P.B., 1988. Leven langs de Fivel, van Helwerd tot Zwarte Lap. In: M. Bierma et al., 1988. Terpen en wierden in het Fries-Groningse kustgebied. Liefland, Hans van, Gelijk et al. Drie eeuwen ontwikkeling van het landschap op de Waddeneilanden. Doctoraalscriptie Rijk- suniversiteit Utrecht, 2000. Lochem-van der Wel, Sandra & Henk van Lochem, 2000. Luchtwachttorens, militair erfgoed uit de Koude Oorlog. In: Historisch-geografisch Tijdschrift 18/3.

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Marrewijk, Dré van & Adriaan Haartsen, 2000. Wadden- Vries, Bert de, 1999. Wieringen, het geheime eiland. zeegebied, landschap van wereldformaat. In: Noordebreedte VROM-raad, 1999. Sterk en mooi platteland. Strategieën 24/3. voor de landelijke gebieden. Advies 015. Ministerie van Landbouw en Visserij, 1989. Levend Verleden. Wanroij, Fons van, 2000. Per trekschuit van Groningen naar Een verkenning van de cultuurhistorische betekenis van het . Sporen van een oude vaarroute. In: Noorderbreedte Nederlandse landschap. 24/6. Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij e.a., Weelink, Margreet & Marja Kiel, 2001. Wadnplek. Een 2000. Natuur voor mensen, mensen voor natuur. Nota natu- verkenning van de beleving van het waddenzeegebied. ur, bos en landschap in de 21ste eeuw. REGIO-project Organisatoren. Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschappen e.a., Westerman, Frank, 1999. De Graanrepubliek. Roman. 2000. Ontwerpen aan Nederland. Architectuurbeleid 2001- 2004. Zwiep, Karel van der, 2001. Wadden Werelderfgoed. In: Wad- denbulletin 36/1. Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschappen e.a., 1999. Belvedere. Beleidsnota over de relatie cultuurhistorie en ruimtelijke inrichting. National Forest and Nature Agency (Denmark), 1997. Work- shop on the Cultural Heritage in the Wadden Sea Region, Ribe, September 10th - 12th 1997. Abstracts and lectures. Norel, K. & Focko Weberling, z.j. Schiermonnikoog in één oogopslag. Postma, M.D. (ed.), 1999. Cultuurhistorie op de Waddeneilan- den. Een inventarisatie van de aanwezige waarden op de Nederlandse waddeneilanden. Overlegorgaan Waddeneilan- den. Renes, Hans, 2001. Ministerie van LNV faalt met historische cultuurlandschappen. In: Geografie 10/4. Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg, Kunstreisboek voor Nederland. Amsterdam/Antwerpen, 1977. Schoorl, Henk, onder redactie van J.T. Bremer & H.Th. M. Lambooij, 1999-2000. De convexe kustboog (4 delen). Schroor, Meindert, 1998. Wonen op hoogten: het terpen- landschap van Middag-Humsterland. In: Historisch- geografisch Tijdschrift 16/3. Schroor, Meindert, Van Middelzee tot Bildt. Landaanwinning in Fryslân in de Middeleeuwen en de vroegmoderne tijd. Abcoude/Amersfoort 2000 Schroor, Meindert, 2001. Ballumer Mieden: de eerste ruil- verkaveling in Nederland. In: Noordebreedte 25/2A. Schultz, E., 1992. Waterbeheersing in de Nederlandse droog- makerijen. Dissertatie. Smaal, A.P. et al. 1979. Kijken naar Monumenten in Neder- land. Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg. Smaal, A.P. et al. 1982. Kijken naar Monumenten in Neder- land 2. Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg. Sneep, J., H.A. Treu & M. Tydeman (eds.), 1982. Vesting: vier eeuwen vestingbouw in Nederland. Stichting Menno van Coehoorn. Steegh, Arthur, 1985. Monumentenatlas van Nederland. 1100 Historische nederzettingen in kaart. Stenvert, Ronald, et al., Monumenten in Nederland. Gronin- gen. Zeist/Zwolle, 1998. Stenvert, Ronald, et al., Monumenten in Nederland. Frys- lân/. Zeist/Zwolle, 2000. Stol, Taeke, 1993. Wassend water, dalend land. Veldt, Marco in ‘t, 2001. Badcultuur op . In: Wad- denbulletin 36/3. Vooys, C.G.N. de, 1996. Nederlandse badplaatsen tot 1930. In: Historisch-geografisch Tijdschrift 14/2.

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