Andijk test polder

Near Andijk there is a special polder that juts out like a cape into the old Zuiderzee. This is the so-called Proefpolder, part of the Zuiderzee Works. It was followed by the large IJsselmeer polders of Wieringermeer, Noordoostpolder, and Oostelijk and Zuidelijk Flevoland. But it all started with the Proefpolder. The history of that very first, small IJsselmeer polder dates back to the storm surge of January 1916. 

During the night of January 13-14, 1916, the entire Zuiderzee area was hit by a very severe northwesterly storm. In North Holland, the dikes of Waterland and the Anna Paulowna polder broke. This resulted in major flooding. The situation was critical that night at Andijk and Wervershoof. For hours, waves washed over the dike, completely soaking the inside.

First, cracks formed in the mushy dike, then large chunks slid away from the inside of the dike over hundreds of meters. All night long, the men of the village worked in the cold and water under the supervision of Lodewijk Louwers. They took sails from the dike warehouse and covered the threatened areas with them. 

At the last minute, they managed to save the dike. Otherwise, this entire area would have disappeared under the salt water.

Of course, a large-scale dike improvement project was launched in 1916. To this end, around three hundred houses in Andijk that were located directly against the dike were demolished or relocated. 

The storm surge of 1916 was the decisive factor in the acceptance of Cornelis Lely's plan to close off and partially reclaim the Zuiderzee. In 1927, work began on diking the Wieringermeerpolder. But prior to this enormous undertaking, the Proefpolder (Test Polder) was constructed near Andijk in 1926-1927. The polder, measuring approximately forty hectares, was drained in August 1927. 

The purpose of the Proefpolder was research. How could the new soil best be drained and desalinated? Which crops grew well on the reclaimed soil? In the fall of 1928, the first plots were sown. That year, a farm with a laboratory was also built in the polder. 

Dozens of crops were planted in the Proefpolder, from canary seed to Eigenheimers and from winter wheat to spinach. This provided valuable experience that proved very useful in the Wieringermeer, which was reclaimed in 1930. This photo shows a farm worker in a field of blue poppy seeds. 

After the trials ended, the State leased the Proefpolder. Later, it came into the hands of the municipality of Andijk. Many residents of the village had small market gardens there. After 1970, the polder was converted into a recreational area. Today, the old Proefpolder is completely built up with holiday bungalows. 

The government drew its conclusions from the (near) dike breaches of 1916: it was not responsible for the care of the sea dikes to be fragmented across dozens of organizationally limited water boards. Therefore, it placed the management of all North Holland sea dikes under a new central water board, the Hoogheemraadschap Noordhollands Noorderkwartier. The four West Frisian water boards thus lost responsibility for the Omringdijk. Here we see the coat of arms of the former West Frisian water board Drechterland.