Flevoland (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈfleːvoːlɑnt]ⓘ) is the twelfth and newestprovince of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and easternFlevopolders, together with theNoordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the country in the formerZuiderzee, which was turned into the freshwaterIJsselmeer by the closure of theAfsluitdijk in 1932. Almost all of the land belonging to Flevoland wasreclaimed in the 1950s and 1960s[5] while splitting theMarkermeer andBordering lakes from the IJsselmeer. As to dry land, it is the smallest province of the Netherlands at 1,410 km2 (540 sq mi), but not gross land as that includes much of the waters of the fresh water lakes (meres) mentioned.[6]
The province had a population of about 445,000[6] as of January 2023 and consists of sixmunicipalities. Its capital isLelystad and its most populous city isAlmere, which forms part of theRandstad and has grown to become the seventh largest city of the country. Flevoland is bordered in the extreme north byFriesland, in the northeast byOverijssel, and in the northwest by the lakes Markermeer and IJsselmeer. In the southeast, the province borders onGelderland; in the southwest onUtrecht andNorth Holland. Outside urban areas, the land in Flevoland is predominantly used foragriculture.
Flevoland was named afterLacus Flevo, a name recorded inRoman sources for a large inland lake at the southern end of the later-formed Zuiderzee;[7] it was mentioned by the Roman geographerPomponius Mela in hisDe Chorographia in 44 AD. Due to the slowly rising sea level, a number of lakes gradually developed in the Zuiderzee region, which eventually became contiguous. Pomponius wrote about this: "The northern branch of the Rhine extends to Lake Flevo, which encloses an island of the same name and then flows to the sea like a normal river." Other sources speak of Flevum, which means 'flow'. The process continued and gradually the Zuiderzee arose from this lake. The names "Flevoland" and "Vlieland" have the same origin.
Between 790 and 1250, Lake Flevo became connected with the North Sea. As a result, a number of villages were swallowed by the sea. The newly created inland sea was called Almere.
After aflood in 1916, the decision was made to enclose and reclaim the Zuiderzee, an inland sea within the Netherlands, and thus theZuiderzee Works started. Other sources[8] indicate other times and reasons, but also agree that in 1932, theAfsluitdijk was completed, which closed off the sea completely. The Zuiderzee was later divided intoIJsselmeer (mere at the end of the riverIJssel) andMarkermeer, planned to be mostly drained to make theMarkerwaard. The Markerwaard was never built due to post-Warfiscal austerity.[citation needed]
The first land reclaimed was the northeastpolder (Noordoostpolder) in 1942. This took in the former small islandsUrk andSchokland. It was at first added to the Province ofOverijssel.
In the southwest theFlevopolder – larger than the above – was then reclaimed; its northeastern half in 1957 and its southwestern half in 1968.
A key feature of the latter is a narrow body of water kept at three metres below sea level along the former coastline, to stabilize the water table and prevent coastal towns from losing their waterfront and access to the sea. Thus, theFlevopolder became an artificial island joined to the mainland by bridges. The municipalities on the three parts voted to become a province, shortly before this was effected in 1986.
Since that time, Flevoland is the youngest of the 12provinces of the Netherlands, having been granted this status in 1986. Its current sources of revenue are the cultivation of flowers, farming and tourism. In recent times, it has built manywind turbines as a source ofrenewable energy.
Eastern Flevoland (Oostelijk Flevoland orOost-Flevoland) and Southern Flevoland (Zuidelijk Flevoland orZuid-Flevoland), unlike theNoordoostpolder, have broad channel between them and the mainland: theVeluwemeer andGooimeer, respectively, making them, together, the world's largestartificial island.
They are two polders with a joint hydrological infrastructure, with a dividing dike in the middle, theKnardijk, that will keep one polder safe if the other is flooded. The two main drainage canals that traverse the dike can be closed byfloodgates in such an event. The pumping stations are theWortman (diesel powered) at Lelystad-Haven, theLovink nearHarderwijk on the eastern dike and theColijn (bothelectrically powered) along the northern dike beside theKetelmeer.
A new element in the design of Eastern Flevoland is the larger cityLelystad (1966), named afterCornelis Lely, the man who had played a crucial role in designing and realising the Zuiderzee Works. Other more conventional settlements already existed by then;Dronten, the major local town, was founded in 1962, followed by two smaller satellite villages,Swifterbant andBiddinghuizen, in 1963. These three were incorporated in the new municipality ofDronten on 1 January 1972.
Southern Flevoland has only one pumping station, the diesel-poweredDe Blocq van Kuffeler. Because of the hydrological union of the two Flevolands, it simply joins the other three in maintaining the water level of both polders. Almere relieves the housing shortage and increasing overcrowding on the old land. Its name is derived from the early medieval name forLake Almere. Almere was to be divided into three major settlements initially; the first,Almere-Haven (1976) situated along the coast of the Gooimeer (one of the peripheral lakes), the second and largest was to fulfill the role of city centre asAlmere-Stad (1980), and the third wasAlmere-Buiten (1984) to the northwest towards Lelystad. In 2003, themunicipality made a newStructuurplan which started development of three new settlements:Overgooi in the southeast,Almere-Hout in the east, andAlmere-Poort in the West. In time,Almere-Pampus could be developed in the northwest, with possibly a new bridge over theIJmeer towardsAmsterdam.
TheOostvaardersplassen is a landscape of shallow pools, islets, and swamps. Originally, this low part of the new polder was destined to become an industrial area. Spontaneous settlement of interesting flora and fauna turned the area into a nature park, of such importance that the new railway line was diverted. The recent decline in agricultural land use will in time make expandingnatural land use possible, and connect the Oostvaardersplassen to theVeluwe.
The centre of the polder most closely resembles the prewar polders in that it is almost exclusively agricultural. In contrast, the southeastern part is dominated by extensive forests. Here is also found the only other settlement of the polder,Zeewolde (1984), again a more conventional town acting as the local centre. Zeewolde became a municipality at the same time as Almere, on 1 January 1984, which in the case of Zeewolde meant that the municipality existed before the town itself, with only farms in the surrounding land to be governed until the town started to grow.
Source: Population dynamics; birth, death and migration per region], CBS StatLine, 4 August 2023[9]
On 1 January 2023, Flevoland had a total population of 444,701 and a population density of 315/km2 (820/sq mi).[1] It is the2nd least populous province of the Netherlands, with onlyZeeland having fewer people. The city ofAlmere is the most populous municipality in the province.
In 2015, 15.5% of the population belonged to theProtestant Church in the Netherlands while 12.3% wasRoman Catholic, 7.2% wasMuslim and 9.9% belonged to other churches or faiths. Over half (55.2%) of the population identified as non-religious.
Thegross domestic product (GDP) of the province was €14 billion in 2018, accounting for 1.8% of the Netherlands' economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €29,500 or 98% of the EU27 average in the same year.[12]
The Flevopolder is served by theFlevolijn, running from Weesp to Lelystad, and theHanzelijn, continuing from Lelystad towards Zwolle. The two railways stations of the province with intercity services areAlmere Centrum andLelystad Centrum.
Furthermore,Lelystad Zuid is a planned railway station between Almere Oostvaarders and Lelystad Centrum. It has been partially constructed preceding the opening of the railway in 1988, but construction has been put on indefinite hold because of slower-than-expected development of the city of Lelystad.
