Conquering the water wolf: the Noordoostpolder

After the Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) had come into existence around 1200 as a result of tidal floods sweeping away the low-lying peat the vast expanse of water grew with every storm eroding even more land from the shores and islands. This process became known as the water wolf - with the sea likened to a glutinous wolf, always hungry for more land. As technical abilities grew during the 17th century for empoldering lakes, plans were also drawn up for empoldering large expanses of water like the Haarlemmermeer, Wieringermeer and Zuiderzee. However ambitious, these plans were too expansive en too impractical to be executed with the technologies available at the time.

After the Haarlemmermeer had been successfully drained between 1840 and 1852 using steam powered pumping stations the time was right for reviving the ideals of recapturing the drowned lands between Holland and Friesland. Cornelis Lely, an eminent engineer and later Minister for Transport and Public Works, drew up new plans in 1891 for what would become the Zuiderzeewerken (Southern Sea Works). The plans consisted of damming the inland bay with a large dike linking West-Friesland with Friesland and the creation of 4 large new polders (northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest) with a large fresh water lake at the centre. The plans met with fierce opposition from fishermen and coastal towns and cities fearful for their livelihoods and the potential for increased flooding. When Lely took up his ministerial post in 1913, the plans came back on the table. After the disastrous storm in 1916 that lead to dikes breaching and subsequent floods the calls to finally tame the  sea rang loud and the government started the planning for execution of the proposed works. The enormous undertaking started after the Zuiderzeewet (Southern Sea Act) was passed on June 14, 1918.

After a trial polder at Andijk and the successful draining of the Wieringermeer (1929) during the 1920s work started on the Afsluitdijk (Enclosure Dam), a 32 km long and 90 m wide dike running from Den Oever in Holland to the village of Zurich in Friesland. The top of this Afsluitdijk stood 7.25 m above sea level and was opened in 1933. Work on the northeast polder started shortly after. This polder wasn't completely drained until 1942 and incorporated the former islands of Urk and Schokland.

Due to difficulties work on the new polder started in earnest in 1936 with the raising of the dike from Lemmer to Urk. From Vollenhove a second dike was raised towards Urk. This ring dike measures a length of 55 km. Completion of the encircling dikes was halted by the German invasion of 1940 but the dike reached Urk in December 1940 and draining work started in 1941. In 1942 480 km2 of new land became available. The polder was designated as farming land, with the areas of poor soil planted with trees. All the land was State-owned with some parcels leased out to pioneers. Later, selected families were invited to settle in one of the 10 new villages, but only after rigorous testing and selection. The central town was seen as the regional centre and the pace were al non-agricultural life would be concentrated.

The Northeast Polder was never renamed. The layout and parcelling is very planned and regular making the most of the almost round polder. The polder is drained by large drainage channels that double up as shipping canals (vaarten) and a multitude of lesser ditches. Urbanisation is highly reminiscent of the Garden City schematics of Ebenezer Howard with a central town surrounded by agricultural satellites all at more or less similar distance. There is no rail connection.

At the junction of the three main drainage canals the town of Emmeloord was planned (1943). At a distance easlily covered by bicicle 10 villages were projected: Ens (1949), Manknesse (1949), Kraggenburg (1949), Luttelgeest (1950), Bant (1951), Creil (1953), Rutten (1953), Espel (1956), Tollebeek (1956) and Nagele (1956). All new settlement were named after former local villages and towns once swept away by the waves as the Zuiderzee expanded and drowned the land between 1115 and 1350.