Wieringerwerf is a town in the
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
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 ...
. It is a part of the municipality of
Hollands Kroon
Hollands Kroon is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality located in the Northwest Netherlands. It was created on 1 January 2012, as a merger of four municipalities: Anna Paulowna, Niedorp, Wieringen, and Wieringermeer.Ministry o ...
, and lies about southeast of
Den Helder
Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base.
From here the Royal TESO fe ...
. It is situated in a polder. The elevation of the village is below sea level. Dikes and pumping engines keep the land dry.
History
In 1936 the construction of the village began, a few years after the reclamation of 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 ...
. Because of an employment project that was subsidised by the state, inhabitants from all over the country came to the Wieringermeer to help build an infrastructure. In only short time houses, shops, churches and schools rose in Wieringerwerf. Near the town a "
terp
A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and ...
" was built, an artificial hill that could serve as a refuge in case of an eventual bursting of 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 ...
dike.
On 1 July 1941 Wieringermeer became an independent municipality. On 29 September of the same year, the first inhabitants of the new land gave a memorial to the new mayor and aldermen. This statue, entitled ''De Maaier'' (The Mower), can be found on a square in the town centre. The inscription says: "''Here a future was built, keep building.''"
On 17 April 1945 the Germans bombed the dike and within two days the complete polder was all water again (see also
inundation of the Wieringermeer
On 17 April 1945, the retreating German occupying forces inundated the polder of Wieringermeer, the Netherlands.
Preparations
In 1945 German forces German occupation of the Netherlands, occupying the Netherlands planned to destroy the Zuiderzee W ...
). Most inhabitants fled inland to higher ground, but a few found their refuge on the man-made terp. On 11 December 1945 the polder was reclaimed again, so the building of Wieringerwerf could start for a second time. Nowadays, a monument and a deep pool still mark the location of the bursting.
In the decades after the reconstruction Wieringerwerf always had a growing population. Several quarters were built around the town centre. The town is still growing, so the inscription of the statue ''De Mower'' still finds a response.
Statistics
In 2001, the town of Wieringerwerf had 5661 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was , and contained 2285 residences.
[Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001']
. Statistics are for the continuous built-up area. The wider statistical area of Wieringerwerf has a population of around 5700.
[Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Gemeente Op Maat 2004: Wieringermeer']
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in North Holland
Hollands Kroon