Kornwerderzand ( West Frisian: Koarnwertersân) is a village on the

Afsluitdijk The Afsluitdijk (; ; "closure dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of Zurich, Friesland, Zurich in Friesland province, o ...

, a major dam 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 ...

that links

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

with

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 ...

Overview

Kornwerderzand is located approximately 4 kilometers from the coast of

, on a former

artificial island An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...

which was created during the construction of the dam. The settlement has a population of 50 (as of 2021). It is part of the municipality of

Súdwest-Fryslân Southwest Friesland ( ) is a municipality in the northern Netherlands, located in the province of Friesland. It had a population of 89,999 in January 2021. Sneek is the municipal seat. With a total area of 841.56 km2, Southwest-Friesland is ...

. The shipping locks at Kornwerderzand, also known as the ' ("Lorentz Locks"), provide access to the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

from the

IJsselmeer The IJsselmeer (; , ), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed-off freshwater lake in the central Netherlands bordering the Provinces of the Netherlands, provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with a ...

, and a complex of discharge sluices control the water level in the IJsselmeer. A second complex of sluices and locks is located at the other side of the Afsluitdijk, near Den Oever.

History

Fortifications and military history

The Afsluitdijk provides a road link between the provinces of

and

. Since

was part of Vesting Holland ("Fortress Holland"), the

national redoubt A national redoubt or national fortress is an area to which the (remnant) military forces of a nation can be withdrawn if the main battle has been lost or even earlier if defeat is considered inevitable. Typically, a region is chosen with a geogra ...

of the Netherlands at the time, and control of the sluices in the Afsluitdijk was necessary for planned defensive inundations in case of a military invasion, Kornwerderzand was considered strategically important by the Dutch government. From 1931 onwards, fortifications consisting of seventeen

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...

s and three

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

s were constructed. The position was manned with approximately 220 troops in 1939. During the

German invasion of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands (), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands (), was a military campaign, part of Case Yellow (), the Nazi German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) and Fran ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Kornwerderzand position was defended by Dutch troops. On May 13 and May 14, 1940, the fortifications were attacked by the German first Cavalry Division, while the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

attacked supporting Dutch naval units. The German troops, initially lacking support by heavy

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

, were unable to take the position. The fortifications also withstood attacks by

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s. The next day the Dutch military in the Netherlands (except for the province of

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

) surrendered, and the battle ended with the surrender of the position. In 1943, the occupying German military improved the defenses by building three additional bunkers. Nowadays, some of the fortifications can be visited as part of the Kazemattenmuseum ("casemate museum"). Before 2011, the village was part of the Wûnseradiel municipality.

References

External links

Kazemattenmuseum
- The museum located in the fortifications (in Dutch) {{Authority control Súdwest-Fryslân Populated places in Friesland Zuiderzee Works

Overview

History

Fortifications and military history

See also

References

External links