page_title: Urk
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Urk / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Urk (Netherlands)
context_page_description: Urk is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands.
  Urk is first mentioned in historical records dating to the 10th century, when it was still an island in the IJsselmeer, a lake that would become part of the Zuiderzee in the 13th century after a series of incursions by the North Sea. In 1939, a dike from the mainland to Urk ended the town's island status, just as the Afsluitdijk project was changing the salt water Zuiderzee surrounding Urk to the less saline IJsselmeer. Later in the 20th century, seabed areas surrounding Urk were reclaimed from the sea and became the Noordoostpolder.
  The mainstay of the town's economy has always been fishing, and the products of the sea coming in through Urk's harbour continue to be exported widely, although today Urk's fishing boats must travel greater distances to gather them than was required in most historical periods. Religious life has also traditionally been very important to Urk's inhabitants, with active, conservative congregations of the Dutch Reformed denominations playing key roles in the life of the community.
context_section_description: The important economic pillar of the village is the fishery. After the IJsselmeer was formed, the Urkers fished on the North Sea. Due to rising prices of fish, at present Urk is a very prosperous village.  In the past, many lives were lost in storms on the Zuiderzee and North Sea.  There is a memorial to lost fishermen on Urk, popularly known as the Urker vrouw: a statue of a woman looking out to sea, vainly awaiting the return of her husband and sons.
caption: The quay of Urk
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