Lelystad () is a Dutch

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered 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 ...

that made the reclamation possible. Lelystad is situated approximately three metres (10 feet) below sea level.

History

Lelystad is built on the seabed of the former Zuiderzee. About 6,500 years ago, this wetland was above high tide level and inhabited; the Netherlands have steadily subsided since. Near Lelystad at

Swifterbant Swifterbant () is a town in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Flevoland. It is a part of the municipality of Dronten, and lies about 13 km northeast of Lelystad. On 1 January 2014, Swifterbant had 6475 inhabitants.

, the oldest

human skeleton The human skeleton is the internal framework of the human body. It is composed of around 270 bones at birth – this total decreases to around 206 bones by adulthood after some bones get fused together. The bone mass in the skeleton makes up ab ...

s in Western Europe were discovered. Due to rising water levels and storms, the

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

lands were washed away, and the Lacus Flevo (in Roman times) grew to be the

Almere Almere () is a Planned community, planned List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Flevoland, Netherlands across the IJmeer fro ...

(Middle Ages) and became the Zuiderzee. The Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) was the main transport route from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

and the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

cities. Due to the many

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

s in Flevoland, Lelystad now houses the National Centre for Maritime

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, with a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and the

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

that has built the ''Batavia'' replica. Lelystad sunset

After the Second World War the

Zuiderzee Works The Zuiderzee Works () is a system of dams and Levee, dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, which was the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the dammin ...

continued, constructing the

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 ...

of Eastern Flevoland. In 1950 work commenced on several construction islands in the middle of the IJsselmeer. ''Lelystad-Haven'' was the largest island, and its wooden barracks housed a community of dyke-builders. In 1955 they reached the mainland, which made it possible to drive to Lelystad by car. One of the three

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses, are public utility buildings containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are critical in a variety of infrastructure systems, such as water supply, Land reclamation, ...

s, which drained the polder in June 1957, was the diesel-powered ''Wortman'' in Lelystad-Haven. Until 1967 the only inhabitants of Lelystad were technical

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

s and

laborer A laborer ( or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor typed within the construction industry. There is a generic factory laborer which is defined separately as a factory worker. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in whic ...

s and superintendents, living on the former construction island.

Demographics

Ethnic composition

Source: *65% of the population was of Dutch background (two parents born 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 ...

) *23% was of non-Western migration background (one or two parents born in a non-

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

country) *12% was of Western migration background (one or two parents born in a Western country) Lelystad has a large population of Surinamese origin (5,225); most residents of a non-Western background live in the east of the city. Lelystad also has significant Moroccan (2,615) and Turkish (2,278) communities, most of whom reside in the northeastern part of the city. There were 2,059 residents with an Antillean background.

Climate

Landscape

Lelystad is the largest municipality in the Netherlands in area, but a large part of that area is water: Markermeer and IJsselmeer. Another major area is the internationally famous nature park of Oostvaardersplassen, which arose naturally when the polder of South Flevoland was drained. Lelystad is also surrounded by a square of woodlands and parks and flat farmland. The importance of the landscape and sky is emphasized by several pieces of

land art Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United StatesArt in the modern era: A guide to styles, schools, & mo ...

: engineers' work and works such as the ''Observatorium'' by Robert Morris (see below). The artificial islands of

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 ...

lie immediately to the northwest of Lelystad. Construction started in 2016, and the first islands have already become important wildlife sites, with many species of birds coming to the islands during the breeding season.

Tourism

Lelystad has several tourist attractions, including: * The replica of the 17th-century ship '' Batavia'' at the Batavia Shipyard * Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet * Hanzestad Compagnie, a fleet of historical sailing ships * Lelystad Nature Park * National Aviation Theme Park Aviodrome * Modern architecture, for example the Zilverparkkade and Agora Theatre Lelystad hosts many one-day events like the Lelystad Airshow, the Water Festival, the National Old Timer Day, Lelystad Speedway, Architecture day and several sports events. On the Midland Circuit many motor,

kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of small sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance ...

and

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

events and several autoclub meetings are held. On the coast there are several marinas.

Transport

Lelystad can be reached by air, water, and land.

Air

Lelystad Airport is the biggest

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airport in the Netherlands. It is owned wholly by Schiphol Group. Lelystad Airport has undergone major expansion, including the construction of a passenger terminal for commercial flights, as well as an extension of the runway. The original plan for this airport was to become the main gateway for passengers into the country, to alleviate some of the pressure from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. In turn, Schiphol would be able to focus on its role as international hub for lay-overs. Although the expansion of Lelystad Airport has been finished, the airport has not yet opened for passengers due to various political reasons. As of 2022, the government has decided to delay the opening of the terminals with at least two years, and even then the opening will not be guaranteed.

Water

Lelystad has a small inland

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

, several

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

s, and a canal system which also functions to aid in managing the water levels in the rest of the

. The canal system connects to the Markermeer with a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

to the southwest of Lelystad, and connects the city and its industrial areas to all other towns and their respective industrial areas in the polder.

Rail

the Weesp–Lelystad railway (''Flevolijn'') extends south from Lelystad Centrum railway station and connects the city with

, and to the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or Circular arc, arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that includes almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Net ...

region beyond. The Lelystad–Zwolle railway (''Hanzelijn'') extends north from Lelystad and connects it with Dronten, Kampen and

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

Motorway

The A6 motorway runs along Lelystad on the eastern side of the city. There are three on-ramps connecting this motorway to Lelystad, allowing traffic to travel northbound to Emmeloord and the province of

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 ...

, or southbound to

and the

region.

Provincial roads

The N302 provincial road connects Lelystad to the south-east with Harderwijk and the province of

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

beyond. The N307 connects Lelystad across the Houtribdijk to Enkhuizen and the province of

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 ...

beyond, and to Dronten and beyond that to Kampen in the province of

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

. The N309 connects Lelystad to Dronten and beyond that to Elburg in the province of

Shield and flag

The honeycomb grid in the arms of Lelystad represents the dykes, built with six-edged concrete or basalt blocks. The colour gold indicates the high costs of the project of making the

. The centre shield is the arms of

Cornelis Lely. The sealions reflect the history of the land. In the flag, the

fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

(

lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

) again takes a central point, referring to the name Lely. The yellow background reflects the precious land, and the blue lines the dykes and waterways. The flag of the province is similarly adorned with the fleur-de-lis to commemorate Lely.

Notable residents

* Abraham Bueno de Mesquita (1918–2005) comedian and actor * Nancy van Overveldt (1930-2015), artist * Hans Gruijters (1931–2005), politician and journalist * Hubert Fermina (1948-2022), nurse and politician * Gylan Kain (1942-2024), American poet and playwright * Michiel van Hulten (born 1969), former politician and MEP (1999–2004) * Edsilia Rombley (born 1978), singer * Rianne ten Haken (born 1986), a Dutch model IMDb Database
retrieved 8 June 2019

Sport

* Co Stompé (born 1962), retired professional darts player * Aron Winter (born 1967), retired footballer and football manager * Ivan Sokolov (born 1968), Dutch-Bosnian chess grandmaster * Chiel Warners (born 1978), former decathlete * Charles Zwolsman Jr. (born 1979), racing car driver * Karin Ruckstuhl (born 1980), former heptathlete * Guido van der Valk (born 1980), professional golfer * Ruben Schaken (born 1982), football player * Niels de Ruiter (born 1983), former darts player, current director of the Dutch Darts Federation * Thijs van Valkengoed (born 1983), breaststroke swimmer, competed at the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

* Boy Waterman (born 1984), football goalkeeper * Daan Brandenburg (born 1987), chess grandmaster * Nathaniël Will (born 1989), footballer * Benjamin Bok (born 1995), chess grandmaster * Alex Vlaar (born 1996), Dutch-Bulgarian badminton player * Devyne Rensch (born 2003), football player for

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

and the Netherlands national football team

Twin city

Lelystad maintains

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

with the Suriname twin city of Lelydorp.

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of Flevoland Populated places in Flevoland Populated places established in 1967 Provincial capitals of the Netherlands 1967 establishments in the Netherlands