The Oude Bildtdijk, "Ouwe dyk" in the local dialect "Het

Bildts Bildts () is a conservative Hollandic dialect spoken in the largest part of the former municipality het Bildt in the Dutch province of Friesland. The dialect retains features from around 1505, when the area was reclaimed from the sea as ord ...

" was the first dike in the former Dutch county

Het Bildt het Bildt ( ) is a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands; its capital was Sint Annaparochie. On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipalities of Franekeradeel, Menamerad ...

, built in the 16th century, to protect the new lands from flooding. Het Bildt once was part of the

Middelzee The Middelzee (Dutch language, Dutch for "middle sea"; ), also called Bordine, was the estuary mouth of the River Boorne (West Frisian: ''Boarn'') now in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Friesland. It ran from as far south as Sneek northward to ...

and even until this day land silts up and new lands are being given by the

Waddenzee 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 t ...

. This dike was the first barrier to protect the Bildt area from the sea. The Nieuwe Bildtdijk that was built in the 17th century made the Oude Bildtijk lose its protective function. Also, the Nieuwe Bildtdijk eventually lost its function when an even higher and stronger dike was thrown up in the 20th century. Nowadays, a narrow road runs over the dike and many houses and farmhouses are situated (mainly on the northern side) along and of this dike. From the year 1546, under the rule of emperor Carl V, it was only allowed to build houses on the northern side of the dikes. Only with approval of the emperor was it allowed to build on the south side. Not more than two houses have been built on the south side, of which only one still exists this day, number 237. This rule was to protect the precious land from housing, so it would be used for farming only. With a distance of 14 kilometers, the Oude Bildtdijk is the longest street 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 ...

References

{{coord, 53, 17, 49, N, 5, 40, 5, E, source:fywiki_region:NL_scale:50000, display=title Buildings and structures in Friesland Transport in Friesland Roads in the Netherlands Dikes in the Netherlands Waadhoeke