200px, The Markerwaard would be on what is now the Markermeer The Markerwaard is the name of a proposed, but never built,

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

adjoining the IJsselmeer in the central

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Its construction would have resulted in the near-total reclamation of the Markermeer. Cornelis Lely's plan projected a polder in the south-west of the Zuiderzee, originally named ''Hoornsche Polder'', referring to

Hoorn Hoorn () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. It is the largest town an ...

, then simply "Southwest Polder". Later the name was changed to Markerwaard Polder, after the island of Marken. However, reclamation of three other polders took place first, and preparations for the Markerwaard were being made while draining of the northeast and southeast polders (today's

Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and newest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...

) were underway. In 1941 work for this project started; about 2 km (1¼ miles) of a dike north of Marken was built. It would have had an area of nearly 600 km² (200 sq. mi.). But the German occupation stopped the project. Later, it was decided that the Flevopolder should have priority. In 1957, the island of Marken was connected to mainland Holland. In 1976 the dam Houtribdijk connecting Enkhuizen and

Lelystad Lelystad () is a Dutch Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and the capital city of the province of Flevoland in the central Netherlands. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who en ...

was completed, a necessary step in the construction of Markerwaard, the dikes for the bordering lakes were still to be completed. However the entire project became mired in political and environmental controversy. In the late 1970s, the project was revised down leaving wide bordering lakes between the polder and

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

. Marken would remain a peninsula, unlike on the original project. At this stage, the Markerwaard would have had an area of 410 km² (160 sq. mi.). Markerwaard was expected to be finished in 1978. The debate on a final decision regarding it took over twenty years. The questions concerned the need, on one side, for more agricultural areas, new residential subdivisions, and a new airport (to relieve pressure on Schiphol). On the other side of the debate were primarily ecological issues, with the argument that the value of the lake as a recreation area was considered by some to be stronger than the potential benefits of the polder. Additionally, it was argued that, in case of drought, the lake would be very useful for the production of drinking water, and that in heavy weather, the lake serves as a buffer zone. Finally, in 2003, it was decided not to build this polder. However discussions never completely closed. In 2012, plans emerged to create the

Marker Wadden The Marker Wadden is an artificial archipelago under development in the Markermeer, a lake in the Netherlands. The first island was inaugurated on 24 September 2016. It is a nature reserve alternative to the much bigger proposed Marker ...

, a group of islands designed to establish nature reserves in the north of the Markermeer. In contrast to the Markerwaard, no human occupation is planned. The creation process began in early 2016. Image:Planlely.jpg, An early project of 1891 by Lely, with no bordering lakes, the polder is called the ''Hoornsche Polder''. Image:Ontwerp Afsluiting Zuiderzee en Droogmaking Cornelis Lely 1891-1892.jpg, Sketch Design of the Zuiderzee Works by Cornelis Lely, 1891 Image:Zuiderzeewerken - Lely plan.jpg, The Zuiderzee Works as planned in 1924 on Lely's map, the polder is called ''Zuidwestpolder''. Image:Markerwaard 1965.jpg, The Markerwaard as planned in 1965 Image:Markerwaard 1981.jpg, The Markerwaard as planned in 1981 Image:Marker wadden.jpg, The project

, started in 2016, will be realized instead.

References

{{reflist Cancelled projects Coastal construction Environmental soil science Freshwater ecology Land reclamation Polders of North Holland Polders of Flevoland Zuiderzee Works