Hole in the Dike - Wieringerwerf

At this place we pause for a dramatic event from the final days of the Second World War. On 17 April 1945 German troops blew up the IJsselmeer dike in two places, in an attempt to prevent allied airborne landings. Within 48 hours the water flowed metres high into the Wieringermeer polder. Farms, fields and houses disappeared under water.

The damage was enormous. But the water did not remain long. Not even eight months later, on 11 December 1945, the polder was dry again. The reconstruction began immediately, with united strength. This monument remembers the destruction, but above all the recovery.

Yet the history of this place does not begin in 1945. On the other side of the road, in the woodland area Dijkgatsweide, remains have been found of a prehistoric dugout canoe, dating from around 3300 before Christ. A rare find that shows that people already lived here thousands of years ago and moved over the water.

From here you have a fantastic view over the IJsselmeer and the Wieringermeer.

Photo: ©Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, Municipality Hollands Kroon