Benthuizen - Benthuizen

Just like many villages and towns in the area, Benthuizen originally developed as a peat village. It is assumed that the first habitation took place during the Great Reclamation of the Dutch peat region (from the tenth to the thirteenth century). From the end of the thirteenth century, the lord of the manor (the owner of a certain area) began to reclaim the area around Benthuizen and make it accessible by digging waterways and constructing roads. The land was used for agriculture, arable farming, livestock and – eventually – peat extraction. The latter became the most important source of income for the inhabitants of Benthuizen.

From the sixteenth century onwards, this took on extreme forms due to the growing demand for peat as a fuel. In some places, peat extraction had advanced so far that the groundwater level was reached. Using dredging rakes (a kind of scoop net with a long handle), the peat below the water surface was removed and laid out to dry on drying fields.

This method of peat cutting caused the land to break up and deep peat lakes to form. At a certain point, these lakes were diked and drained, creating deep polders or reclaimed lakes. Peat cutting usually took place along the edges of the village, which is why Benthuizen lies slightly higher than the surrounding polders.