Dike post Assendelver Zeedijk
Along the meandering Assendelver Zeedijk stands a bluestone dike post near the T-junction with Genieweg. The dike has a long history and has been breached several times. The many bends in the dike are reminders of those breaches.
Assendelver Zeedijk
The Assendelver Zeedijk was probably constructed in the 13th century to protect Assendelft from flooding from the IJ and an offshoot of it known as the Wijkermeer. At the time, the IJ was in open connection with the Zuiderzee and it could get ugly. In the years 1870-1876, the IJ and the Wijkermeer were drained as part of the construction of the North Sea Canal. The Wijkermeerpolder took shape in 1875 and so the old Assendelver Zeedijk came to lie in the middle of the land.
At the end of the 19th century, the dike was included in the Defence Line of Amsterdam. This Defence Line was built in 1880-1894 as a line of defense around Amsterdam. The 135 km long line consisted of 46 forts, batteries, dikes, dams and sluices.
Christmas flood 1717
During the Christmas night of 1717, a northwest storm hit the coastal area of the Netherlands. The wind pushed water from the ocean into the North Sea. The water pressed on so impetuously that several holes fell in the Assendelver Zeedijk. The dike had already failed once in 1714, had not been repaired properly after that and was in poor condition.
The Zaanstreek and Waterland disappeared completely under water. Many cattle did not survive and there was great material damage. This enormous flood was later called the Christmas Flood 1717.
The dike breaches were inspected, the width and depth measured, and then the holes plugged. This required many workmen. The surrounding villages were approached to supply men. Not only did the dike have to be closed, but it also needed to be improved and raised to prevent its recurrence. Moreover, the northernmost part of the Wijkermeer was dammed with a cross dike, the (New) Overdijking, between the Sint Aagtendijk along the western side of the Wijkermeer and the Assendelver Zeedijk along the eastern side. This made a large loop of both sea dikes with a length of 7½ km into an inner dike and at the same time 170 ha of new land was reclaimed. This shortening naturally also necessitated a redistribution of the management and maintenance of both sea dikes.
Dike post
The dike post marked the new boundary between the Assendelver Zeedijk and the Sint Aagtendijk. North of the dike post, the dike had been managed since 1719 by the Heemraadschap van de Sint Aagtendijk, south by the Heemraadschap van de Assendelver Zeedijk. In 1843 the entire dike came under the supreme control of an umbrella water board, the Vereeniging van den Noorder IJ- en Zeedijk. This water board merged into the new Hoogheemraadschap Noordhollands Noorderkwartier in 1921, which in turn merged via via into the present Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier.
The current dike pole is a 1982-1983 replica. The original pole is in the Zaans Museum.
The necessary text is chiseled into all sides of the pole:
North side: S[int]: AAG TENDYK DYKGRAAF MR. J. NUHOUT VAN DER VEEN HEEMRADEN MR. J. NUHOUT VAN DER VEEN F. BAK, C. VAN DEN STEENOVEN, J. MERCHANT, J. LAARMAN, L. VEER SECRETARY 1802
East side: P. KLEYNE Gz. DYKGRAAF, J.B. AL Kz., D. JONGEJANS Pz., K. DE BOER Az., J. DEKKER Jz., HEEMRADEN J.J. DE BOER PENNINGMEESTER 1911
South side: ASSEN DELVER DYK
DYKGRAVE J.C. VAN SON, LEVEE COUNCILS PIETER YFF HUYGH DE JONGH, PIETER GROOT, DIRK JONKER SECRETARY W. SYPESTYN 1802
H. B. SMIT, DYKGRAAF F. YFF, H. Kz. BOON, AND K. Gz. YOUNGJANS, HEEMRADEN J. QUANTES TREASURER 18[...]
West side: NORTH Y = AND SEEDIJK 67516 EL (length in ells) 1867
