page_title: Zuiderzee Works
section_title: Wieringermeer
hierarchical_section_title: Zuiderzee Works / Polders / Wieringermeer
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Collectie / Archief&#160;: Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie&#160;: Vernielingen: Wieringermeer Beschrijving&#160;: Overstroming van de Wieringmeerpolder. Op 17 april 1945 hebben de Duitsers nog de dijk doorgestoken die de Wieringermeer van het IJsselmeer scheidt. Annotatie&#160;: Groep vrouwen kijkt vanaf het dek van een schip naar het ondergelopen Middenmeer Datum&#160;: mei 1945 Locatie&#160;: Wieringermeer Trefwoorden&#160;: inundaties, overstromingen, verwoestingen Fotograaf&#160;: Poll, Willem van de / Anefo Auteursrechthebbende&#160;: Nationaal Archief Materiaalsoort&#160;: Negatief (zwart/wit) Nummer archiefinventaris&#160;: bekijk toegang 2.24.01.03 Bestanddeelnummer&#160;: 900-3181
context_page_description: The Zuiderzee Works is a man-made system of dams and dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, in total the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the damming of the Zuiderzee, a large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, and the reclamation of land in the newly enclosed water using polders. Its main purposes are to improve flood protection and create additional land for agriculture.
  The American Society of Civil Engineers declared these works, together with the Delta Works in the South-West of the Netherlands, as among the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
context_section_description: The Wieringermeer, as the first of the envisioned five polders, served as a major testbed for ideas and techniques for the following projects. It is closest to the original concept of the new land being primarily used as agricultural land and it has retained a strong rural character. Four villages eventually were formed in the polder: Slootdorp (1931), Middenmeer (1933), Wieringerwerf (1936), and Kreileroord (1957).
  Local governance presented a new problem. The area was divided among the mainland municipalities according to the boundaries used when it was water-covered. This configuration was not always practical on the ground and unnecessarily split responsibilities among several bodies. The first solution was a form of government called an openbaar lichaam or "public body", a complicated arrangement which incorporated both the government body in charge of the actual development and an appointed committee responsible for public governance. As the polder became more populated, the demand for representation increased until finally on July 1, 1941 the municipality of Wieringermeer was established.
  In the closing days of World War II, the Nazis detonated explosives severely damaging the Wieringermeer dike. No casualties were incurred but the polder sank, and the high water and a subsequent storm destroyed most of the infrastructure built in the previous decade. Reconstruction followed quickly and by the end of 1945 the polder was declared drained again and rebuilding the roads, bridges, houses and farms was greatly facilitated by the experience of building them the first time.
caption: Flooding of the Wieringermeer following damage to the dykes during World War II
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