Alblasserwaard

The Alblasserwaard is a polder in the province South Holland in the Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, a village in the northwest of the Alblasserwaard.

History

The first human inhabitants of the Alblasserwaard settled there after the last Ice Age, around 10.000 years ago. The ice had not reached the area itself, but Eolian deposits created high points in the wet environment. These high points were places where hunter-gatherers settled, as archaeological investigations in the area have shown.

During the Middle Ages several canals and dikes were created to reclaim the land, with the last part being endiked in the second half of the 14th century. Yet numerous floods continued to happen throughout the history of the area, as it is bound by rivers on all sides.

During World War II the Bombing of Rotterdam also damaged the Alblasserwaard, when both the village center of Alblasserdam and a part of Papendrecht were hit by German bombs.

Geography and Population

The Alblasserwaard is bordered by rivers on all sides. To the north is the Lek, which also forms the boundary between the province South Holland and Utrecht. To the west runs the Noord. At the joining of the Noord and the Lek, Kinderdijk is located. To the south runs the river Merwede, and to the east the Merwede-Kanaal, the Linge and the Zederik together form the boundary with Vijfheerenlanden.

Most of the Alblasserwaard is rural, but partially under the influence of the cities Rotterdam and Dordrecht on the borders of the area, the south and west are urbanized.The largest cities in the Alblasserwaard are Gorinchem, with 35.000 inhabitants, and Papendrecht with slightly over 30.000 people. Both are on the southern borders of the Alblasserwaard. The other municipalities in the Alblasserwaard are:
*Alblasserdam
*Giessenlanden
*Graafstroom
*Hardinxveld-Giessendam
*Liesveld
*Nieuw-Lekkerland
*Sliedrecht
*Zederik

Geology

Extensive parts of the Netherlands are below sea level, and the Alblasserwaard is no different. Most of it has been won from the water through land reclamation, using the windmills on the Kinderdijk. This process led to the area being full of dikes alongside the rivers. Most of the Alblasserwaard is grassland, where in the spring and summer one will find herds of cows, sheep and goats. The ground consists of clay.

Nature and Recreation

While large parts of the Alblasserwaard are owned by farmers, or are populated, some areas are open to the public for recreation.

*The windmills of Kinderdijk are a major tourist attraction.
*In the southwest of the Alblasserwaard is the Alblasserbos, an artificial forest area where deer and foxes live, as well as numerous smaller species.
*Roughly between Streefkerk and Brandwijk is the area Donkse Laagten, which is under the protection of the Dutch governmental branch Staatsbosbeheer.
*There are two free camping spots in the Alblasserwaard, as part of a project by Staatsbosbeheer to promote legal camping in the wild. These are located respectively in the aforementioned Alblasserbos and the Donkse Laagten. [cite web
url=http://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/doen/opvakantie/kamperen/details.asp?ACT_ID=465
title=Staatsbosbeheer on the Donkse Laagten free camping spot] [cite web
url=http://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/doen/opvakantie/kamperen/details.asp?ACT_ID=466
title=Staatsbosbeheer on the Alblasserbos free camping spot]
*The Lammetjeswiel is a recreational area within the village of Alblasserdam. It is a popular swimming area, with governmental checks of the water condition twice a month. [cite web
url=http://www.alblasserdam.nl/gemeente/alblasserdam/navigatie.nsf/web/7749ec254e52b54fc1256f9500523248
title=Official Alblasserdam Site about the Lammetjeswiel recreational area]

External links

* [http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=11&ll=51.869708,4.792786&spn=0.181883,0.466919&om=1 Google Map of the Alblasserwaard]
* [http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=818 UNESCO about the windmills at Kinderdijk (World Heritage List)]
* [http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/466/ UNESCO about the eastern Alblasserwaard (Tentative List)]

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