The name 'Beemster's Welvaart', stands for:
'Beemster's
Prosperity'.
Our union
was established in 1910. Since that time volunteers
are promoting the beautiful polder we live in. The Beemster
was reclaimed in 1612, in the so called 'Golden Age'. Its
history is very special, because it was the first time that
the Dutch fought the elements and succeeded in turning
this turbulant inland sea into fertile land. In 1999 the
Unesco put the Beemster on the list of World Inheritances.
A brief summary over the first reclamed large polder the Beemster, since
1999 World Inheritance of the Unesco
by:Cor en Koosje Franken,
They borrowed their information from: Jacobus
Bouman's:
Bedijking, Opkomst en Bloei
van de Beemster and Grootvaders memorieboek
Joop
Witvoet's
: Waterland
translation and photographie :Erny
van de Kleut
Pictures
: W.A. Porte
Waterland
A more proper
name for this region is not imaginable. Until the seventh
century some  small peat rivers
flooded here, e.g. the Bamestra. Owing to the continuous
strong current of this river the borders were swept away
and final\ly the small river became a turbulent lake.
In succession it was named: Bamestra, Baamstria, Bamester,
Bemster, Biemster, and Beemster. This lake threatened
the small village named De Rijp to fade away in the waves.
Nowadays, land and water have reconciled and exist peacefully
side-by-side. The proud farms, the pretty country houses,
and the dikes, which separate water and land, do not
show the grim fight that was fought against the elements.
An old map
of Waterland with its four large inland
seas in the swamps, Beemster, Schermer, Wormer,
Purmer"Allerheiligenvloed
On November 1st, 1170 the exceptional raging storm,
the "All Saint's Day Flood", as well as other floods, made
clear that the crumbling of the borders of the lakes had
to be stopped. In the year 1570 already, plans existed
to drain the Beemster, but not until 1592 the Board
of Holland and West Friesland received an application for
consent to reclaim the land. In 1597 the first charter
was granted, but it did not reach its execution.
Increasing need for land
In 1585, after
the Conquest of Antwerp by the Spanish Army, many of its
inhabitants fled to Amsterdam
 |
In this enormous merchandise adventure he and his
business partners earned a lot of money. Instead
of surrounding themselves with splendour they liked
to invest their money more profitably. At that time
Holland mainly existed of wetlands, with many lakes
and swamps. However, because of the expanding cities
Amsterdam, Hoorn, Enkhuizen, Alkmaar, there was a
great need for good agricultural land and Beemster's
rich clay bottom, promised to be very fertile land.
<--- Dirck
van Oss |
Time of great Inventions
Though some small lakes surrounding Alkmaar were reclaimed already, owing
to the lack of adequate equipment there existed an hesitation
to start the reclaiming of deeper lakes. However, it was
a time for great new ideas and inventions, e.g. the eight-sided
windmill. Its construction made it possible to draw the
roof in the direction of the wind. This turned out to be
a very important invention that enabled reclaiming of the
greater lakes. The eight-sided mill was not the only improvement.
Other systems proved to be successful too, such as draining
with boxes and screwing, hurling or leading the water upwards
by means of excavated pumps
In 1607 the reclaiming the Beemster took shape.. A Board of governors
for the prospective polder was founded. It consisted of
a 'Dijkgraaf' (dike count) and his 'hoofdingelanden', each
of them rich and powerful merchants and regents, e.g. Tobias
de Coene, Nicolaas Cromhout and Rombout Hoogerbeets. Lord Lambert
Wijngaartszoon van Vollenhoven, being the proprietor
of the Lake Beemster abdicated his rights. In exchange
he was appointed the first Dijkgraaf of the Beemster. A
request for the reclaiming of the Beemster was presented
on may 9, 1607 to the Grand Pensionary Johan
van Oldenbarneveldt. The permit was granted within
a fortnight!
Every mill
builder in Holland and West Friesland, who wanted to take
part in the reclaiming with the eight-sided mill was invited
in the inn 'De Drie Morianen in Amsterdam. However, Pieter
Claesz from Graft and Pieter Pietersz from De
Rijp were too many for them. They were so eager to
win this order that they paid a visit to a meeting of the
Board of the Dijkgraaf and his Hoofdingelanden. They declared
to be able to drain the Beemster for a total amount of
only 127,000.00 Dutch guilders and that the work should
only last a year. Sixteen mills would be sufficient and
two of their new mills could do the work of three old ones.
And, so they promised, if they did not succeed in
fulfilling the engagement, they could be fined for the
considerable amount of 6,000 guilders. Of course, this
was for the initiators a very alluring proposition and
the deal was made. Carpenter Jan Adriaensz Leeghwater from
De Rijp was appointed to keep an eye on the construction
of the windmills.
Conditions
The digging of the
ring-canal and the building of the dike, about 29
miles, could start immediately. Though, there were conditions!
In the permit was recorded that superfluous
water that was pumped out of the Beemster should be drained
off to the 'Zuiderzee'. For this purpose another canal
had to be dug from Ursem along Avenhorn, and Oudendijk
to Lutje-Schardam. The building of a sluice in Lutje-Schardam
was another condition. In those days canals and ditches
were important means of traffic.
Building the Ring dike
The ring dike, approximately 38 km, was sliced in parts, varying
from 40 to 100 meters, thus making it possible to start
on several locations. But it appeared to be very difficult
to separate the Beemster from the surrounding lakes. The
stream near Spijkerboor was very strong and a mighty dam
had to be constructed to control the current.
 |
The mill builders did not succeed in draining the
polder within the agreed period of 1 year. Sixteen
mills (ten new and six old paddle wheels) appeared
not to be enough to drain the lake. The weather conditions
in 1609 were very bad. But there were other
set backs too. Farmers and fishermen in the neighbourhood
did not appreciate the reclaiming at all and persistently
tried to sabotage the work.
|
So the ring dike was not closed on the 1st of November, All
Saint's day'. 'Dijkgraaf
Van Vollenhoven took his conclusion and abdicated. At the end of 1609 the higher
parts of the bottom of the lake became visible, but in
the beginning of 1610 a terrible storm raged over
Holland. A tidal wave over flooded the new ring dike, which
appeared to be too weak and collapsed. The
soil was swept away and the mills were destroyed: eight tons of gold were swallowed
up by the waves. A great deal of the shareholders had no
longer fate in the adventure of reclaiming the Beemster
and gave up. They feared bigger losses if they decided
to continue. But Dirck van Oss and his companions persevered,
a million Dutch guilders poorer, but very eager to go on.
The dike should be raised again, but now higher and stronger.
Jan
Adriaensz Leeghwater
| During the winter of 1610 the Beemster
was very cold and the lake was frozen. Jan Adriaenszoon
Leeghwater took advantage of the thick ice floor
and precisely measured the longitude and depths of
the lake on several places. Leeghwater was a genius.
He did not only inspect the mills, he also made improvements
and invented small parts for the components. His
inventions appeared to be very practical. On the
request of Dirck van Oss he made notes and took bearings
of the water in order to calculate the capacity of
the mills. In June of that year, the windmills were
turning again: 43 instead of 16.
|
A statue
of Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater |
Success at last!
Due to heavy rainfall in the autumn of 1611, the land was
flooded again. But the struggle against the water continued
and at last man succeeded! On May 19th 1612, the
Beemster was reclaimed. The final costs amounted about
15 times higher than estimated.
The new land
Investors showed a lot of confidence in this operation and all of
the land to be was sold before any mill was rotating. The
auction took place on July 30th, 1612. The prospective
buyers (123!) gathered in the large hall of Castle Purmersteyn.
They watched land meter Lucas Sink's drawing the lots from
two baskets with his 'bare arms'. One basket contained
the names of the buyers and the other the numbers of the
land.
| The Princes of Orange, Maurits, and Frederik-Hendrik were
invited to see the wonder with their own eyes. They
were the first important visitors to the new land. |
 |
|
The princes
of Orange visited the new land |
On July 1st 1612, they were guests of honour at
the reception on the occasion of the reclaiming. This reception
was held in a tent in the middle of the polder, on the
very spot where, later on "Het Heerenhuis" was built. It
is legendary that Jan Adriaenszoon Leeghwater was one of
the servants during the banquet.
Tobias de Coene
After the disaster
in 1610, Tobias de Coene was proclaimed Dijkgraaf.
The successor of Wijngaart van Vollenhoven turned out to
be a very capable and wise head of the Water Board. His
approach made the new polder Beemster a habitable place
where rights and duties of the inhabitants were registered
in a law (the keur).
Tobias de Coene died in 1618.
His heart was buried in the Dutch Reformed Church of Middenbeemster. Hugo
de Groot, a famous Dutch jurist and author, paid a
tribute to him: he wrote a poem, which was chiselled, on
a marble memorial stone in the church. Up to these days
this stone is a remembrance to the great man who ruled
with his mind, his heart, and with an open eye for the
new ideas, which arose in that time. Tobias de Coene was
succeeded by Dirck van Oss, junior. Like his father
he was a good ruler and nearly half a century he fulfilled
his tasks as head of the Water Board of the Beemster.
Life in the new polder
|
The draining of the land appeared not to be sufficient.
Heavy rainfall resulted in the overflowing of pieces
of land. Arable land was turned into pastures.
The cow became the embodiment of the wealth of
the Beemster. Its picture is shown on the municipal
shield: a red cow on a green pasture under a shining
sun in a blue sky. At first, the pastures showed
many red furred cows, fat stock for the Dutch merchant
fleet. However, this breed appeared not to be resistant
to the udder plague and many times farmers lost
their entire herd of livestock. Black furred cows
replaced the red cattle.
|
The weapon
of the Beemster |
n the new polder the construction of roads and digging of the ditches
took several years. The labourers lived in communities.
They were housed in wooden barns.
In the year of 1612,
the first cole-seed was sown on the fertile soil and the
first crop was abundant. The oil mills in the vicinity
had a whole year's work to grind the seeds. The pastures
were very profitable also and supplied a mass of grass.
Beemster
was a good place to live in, but mainly in spring and summer.
In this part of the year life in the cities was unbearable
due to the non-hygienic conditions. The new landowners
resided in palaces and countryseats, which were surrounded
by pleasure gardens, orchards and kitchen gardens. Their
residences often looked like the glorious merchant houses
along the Amsterdam canals with many rooms and imposing fronts.
Countryseats and pleasure gardens
Famous architects were invited to build the most impressive buildings,
e.g. Zwaansvliet, which was the palace of Dirck van Oss.
But
In the 18th century the wars and
the occupation by Napoleon caused impoverishment. The owners
of the palaces could no longer pay for their expensive
life in the country and the magnificent buildings became
dilapidated. It is a pity that in the 19th century all those
beautiful buildings were pulled down.
|
|
IBut some bell jar
farms of those early years of the Beemster survived.
They had a rich front too. Two families often inhabited
these buildings: the lord and his family lived in
the front and the farmer in the rear. Two examples
of such beautiful bell jar farms are "De Eenhoorn",
built in 1682, and "De Lepelaar" built in 1683 on
de Middenweg.
<-=-- The Eenhoorn (Unicorn) |
Traffic
After the reclamation, the roads were constructed as was planned
on the drawing boards. They were as wide as two carriages
could pass. Until now they are still fit for local traffic.
In those early days, the unhardened roads were nearly impassable,
especially in autumn, winter, and during long-lasting rain.
Horses and ships were the only means of travelling. A voyage from
Middenbeemster to Purmerend and Amsterdam was possible
along towing paths where ships were drawn by means of real
horsepower.
Most of the polder roads were shell paths. In the villages the houses
were linked with wooden walkways. The first hardened road
was constructed in 1849.
The tram (1895-1932)
 |
The first tramway from Amsterdam to Alkmaar was
constructed in 1895. Steam locomotives pulled the
carriages. The voyage from Amsterdam to Purmerend
lasted 45 minutes and travelling from Amsterdam to
Alkmaar took two hours. On his way it passed
Purmerend and the Beemster. .
<---A
stop in Middenbeemster |
From the Purmerend station the Beemster was entered by passing a
drawbridge. A watchman, equipped with flag and semaphore
secured this bridge. The bottom of the former lake shows
a difference in level. On this spot the difference is 10
feet. Under bad weather conditions such as snow or glazed
frost, the drop was as large that the locomotive could
not climb the dike on it self. For the neighbours and the
travellers who were asked to descend this caused a great
spectacle. They all saw the locomotive trying to reach
the top, but in vain. The passengers and bystanders were
asked to help too. This united strength enabled the tram
to pursue its way.
The Church of Middenbeemster
From the beginning
one percent of the reclaimed land was for the Church. The
proceeds of the rent were one of the means of capital for
the building of the Dutch Reformed Church in Middenbeemster
in 1618. It was one of the first Protestant churches in
Holland. The architect of the Church of Middenbeemster
was the famous Hendrick de Keyser who built the Dam palace
in Amsterdam. On July 30, 1623, the Church was solemnly
inaugurated.
From this day on, every year, on "Beemster Biddag" (day of prayer)
the reclamation of the Beemster is remembered. The two
rooms on both sides of the tower were
built In 1626. The room on the Southside became
consistory, the other was assigned for foot warmers. Here
churchgoers could warm themselves by the fireplace. Churchgoers
came by boat or along quays and farmyards. Due to the rainfall,
the roads were very muddy and full of puddles. Men often
carried their wives on their backs. Many of them had a "house-of-walk-to" in
Middenbeemster where their church book, foot warmer, and
some fresh clothes were kept.
In 1624, the
shrinking of the bottom caused serious problems. The Church
tower, which had a low roof, threatened to lean forward.
High costs were made for a remedy, but in vain. It lasted
nearly forty years until the soil was hardened enough to
build a spire on the tower. In 1661 the well-known
architect, Pieter Post, built the eight-sided spire.
 |
<---
A painting
of the church made about 1640 by Pieter Fabritius,
the father of Carel Fabritius, He was the
first sexton and headmaster of the school
in the new polder. The spire must have been
imaginable, because it was not build at that
time. --->
The church and its final spire |
 |
Local authorities
Until the French occupation of Holland at the end of the 18th
Century, the Board of Dijkgraaf and "Hoofdingelanden" governed Beemster.
The French, however, established municipalities and so
Beemster got a civil Board of Governors. The tower of
the Church was confiscated and one of the
rooms was declared 'city hall'. Because it used to be
the domain of the minister and the Church council and
now he had to share it withthe members of the municipality,
it turned to be a very unhappy situation. However,
a solution was found by moving the municipality to Het
Heerenhuis in 1799. The meetings of the municipality
were held here until 1993. From that year Beemster
possesses a beautiful town hall, but until now the tower
is still in the possession of the municipality, which
is obliged to take care of the state of repair.
Keeping the Beemster dry
The mills, which depended upon weather conditions, appeared not
to be sufficient to keep the Beemster dry. At the end of
the 19th century they were replaced by steam and later
on by electric and diesel pumping engine stations. Where,
in the 17th century, 50 windmills took care of dry feet,
two large modern pumping engine stations 'run the house'.
Farms
t is a pity that the beautiful big country estates and pleasure
gardens are gone, but fortunately, a lot of the beautiful
bell jar farms were preserved. However, some of them are no longer agriculturally functional,
but well-to-do owners occupy them. New owners are proud
to live in these historical buildings and have the farms
restored with devotion to the past.
Well-known inhabitants of the Beemster
Carel Fabritius (1622-1654)
| Carel Fabritius was the son of the first
schoolmaster and sexton of the Beemster and one of
the most talented apprentices of Rembrandt. Like
this very famous Dutch painter he had perspective,
space, and sphere in his work by observing the incidence
of light. His paintings are exposed in The Rijksmuseum
in Amsterdam and the Mauritshuis in The Hague. His
life ended abruptly due to anexplosion in a powder
store. It happened when he was working in his studio.
Presumably this is the reason that much of his work
was destroyed.
A painting of Carel Fabritius, one of the few that
are left ---> |
 |
Betje Wolff (1738-1804)
 |
Born at Vlissingen, Elisabeth Bekker was married
in 1759 with the 30 years older vicar Adriaan
Wolff. The vicarage, in which they lived, nowadays
is the well-known museum Betje Wolff. Betje wrote
novels, poems and corresponded with many famous persons
all over the country. She was one of the first women,
who wrote about women emancipation. After the death
of her husband in 1777 she lived with her
friend Aagje Deken (1741-1804) in De Rijp,
a little town near the Beemster. Together they wrote
two books in epistolary form: 'Sara Burgerhart' and 'Willem
Levend'. Betje and Aagje moved to France in 1888
for political reasons, but they came back to Holland
(Bataafsche Republiek till 1806) in 1797. Both
died in 1804.
|
Jacobus Bouman (1799-1877)
Bouman was a cattle farmer and self-made man. He served the community
in many functions. He was President-churchwarden, co-founder
and member of the 'Hollandse Maatschappij van Landbouw' and
after that co-founder of the Beemster Cattle Fund (Insurance),
which idea was taken all over the world. For his book "Bedijking,
opkomst en bloei van de Beemster", he made thorough investigations
in archives and so his information serves us today, even
for the making of this Bird's Eye View on Beemster.
Wouter Sluis (1827-1891)
Wouter Sluis was a cattle farmer too, but merely a pioneer and an
inventor. He sought for practical methods for the farmers
and put into use many new tools. He also invented a method,
which enabled the farmers to make cheese once a day instead
of twice.
UNESCO World Inheritance
The Beemster, which was reclaimed about 400 years ago, is now placed
on the list of the UNESCO World Inheritance because it
is seen as an amazing example of business and craftsmanship.
One of the criteria was its rational geometric layout.
Beemster was designed as an architectural landscape according
to the theory of the 17th century in which urban development
and agricultural engineering for reclaiming land was based
on the ideal of the straight line as geometric structure,
planning and linear monumentality, symmetry, harmony and
order. It is a landscape in which the square, the basic
pattern, induces balance and diffusion. It is true that
today there are some new motorways constructed in the landscape,
but they do not disturb the pattern.
 |
Beemster is still a monument in which the influence
of the Renaissance can be recognised, a beautiful,
constructed area.
Omhoog |
|
