Boterdiep (

Gronings Gronings (; or Grönnegs), is a collective name for some Low Saxon dialects spoken in the province of Groningen and around the Groningen border in Drenthe and Friesland. Gronings and the strongly related varieties in East Frisia have a stro ...

: ''Botterdaip''; translation: Butter Deep) is a canal in the Province of Groningen in the

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 ...

. It was intended for the

inland navigation Inland navigation, inland barge transport or inland waterway transport (IWT) is a transport system allowing ships and barges to use inland waterways (such as canals, rivers and lakes). These waterways have inland ports, marinas, quays, and wharfs ...

. The name relates to the dairy products transported through the canal. It used to have its source in the centre of

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, but it has been rerouted to the Van Starkenborgh Canal.

History

In the 15th century, the Cleisloot provided a connection to

Bedum Bedum (; ) is a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands. Populated by an unknown number of inhabitants () in , Bedum is one of the larger of Groningen (city), Groningen's several satellite ...

north of the city of

. In 1625, the ditch was transformed into a canal which resulted in Zuidwolde being cut into two parts. In 1653, the Boterdiep was extended to

Onderdendam Onderdendam is a village in Het Hogeland municipality in the province of Groningen, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 575 in 2021. History The village is first mentioned in 1252 as "et ulderna domme". Even though it seemingly transl ...

In 1660, it was extended to Kantens, and reached

Uithuizen Uithuizen () is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Het Hogeland. It had a population of 4,885 in January 2017. The Uithuizen railway station is located on the Sauwerd–Roodeschool railway. Hist ...

in 1695 where it ended in a little harbour. Groningen - Boterdiep - Hunsingo

From the 17th century until the beginning of the 20th century, the Boterdiep was a main inland canal, and was aligned on either side by

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

s. The canal used to begin at the in the centre of Groningen. In the early 20th century, the Van Starkenborgh Canal was dug, and in 1912, the Boterdiep was re-routed to the new canal. The section in Groningen was filled up and was renamed Gedempte Boterdiep. In 1973, another 700 metres was filled up to allow for the construction of a road to

Eemshaven Eemshaven (; ) is a seaport in the province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. In 1968, the Dutch government declared the Ems estuary (Eemsmond) to be an economic key region. One of the key developments for the region was the constr ...

. The canal did not agree and two months later, after heavy rain, had managed to return. The Boterdiep is nowadays mainly used for recreational

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

and a 6 km/h speed limit applies. In 2020, the towpaths were reconstructed as a cycle and pedestrian tracks.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Groningen (province)