Alblasserwaard

Geschiedenis

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.HistoryThe 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.It was flooded during the North Sea flood of 1953.Geography and populationThe Alblasserwaard is bordered by rivers on all sides. To the north is the Lek, to the west runs the Noord and to the south the river Merwede. On the east side are the Merwede-Kanaal, the Linge and the Oude Zederik, together forming the boundary with Vijfheerenlanden. De village Kinderdijk, well-known from its windmills, is located at the northwest corner of the Alblasserwaard, where the Noord and the Lek joins.