Schokland: the story

For centuries, Schokland was an island in the Zuiderzee. With the creation of the Noordoostpolder in 1942, Schokland found itself in the middle of new polder land, like a fish out of water. Schokland and its surroundings turned out to be an archaeological goldmine. Having been submerged for a long time, the soil remained almost untouched. By studying the layers of earth, the history of its formation has been mapped out. Over tens of thousands of years, the (pre)historic landscapes have been reconstructed. Stunning archaeological finds show that people have lived here for thousands of years.

The first inhabitants arrived over 10,000 years ago. In that cold period, our distant ancestors still encountered large Ice Age mammals, such as the woolly mammoth, which they undoubtedly hunted. Over time, the climate became milder, and a water-rich landscape crossed by rivers emerged. Higher sand dunes became attractive places to live. The river provided fish, waterfowl, and fresh drinking water. Agriculture was already practiced here 6,500 years ago. Primitive farming communities lived on these spots for 3,000 years continuously. Then, due to rising groundwater, the land became too swampy for habitation. The prehistoric farmers moved to drier ground, and this marshland was only occasionally visited by humans.

From around 1100 AD, efforts began to reclaim the soggy peat wilderness and make it suitable for agriculture. Strips of land were enclosed by dikes and drained. This worked for a while, but the drainage caused the peat soil to subside. Meanwhile, the Zuiderzee had formed, and the tides began to have more influence. The vulnerable, sinking peatland became easy prey for the advancing seawater, with storm floods washing away large areas of land.

Until 1450, Schokland was still connected to the mainland and was thus a peninsula. When that land connection was lost to the sea, the island of Schokland emerged in the Zuiderzee. In the following centuries, the islanders waged a nearly hopeless struggle against the water. Despite building dikes and pole screens, parts of the land were continuously lost. The inhabitants retreated to a few artificially raised mounds. The island kept shrinking. By the 19th century, Schokland was a narrow strip of land just a few kilometers long. The threat of flooding, along with severe poverty, led the government to take drastic action. In 1859, it was decided to evacuate Schokland. The residents had to leave their beloved homeland and move to the mainland. Schokland fell silent. It must have been a bitter realization for the Schokkers that after the evacuation, the island lost no more land.

In 1936, work began on the Noordoostpolder, and by 1942, the last parts of the new land were dry. Schokland was no longer surrounded by water but by farmland—a unique situation.

Today, the lost island can still be recognized as a gently sloping ridge in the flat polder landscape. But for how long? Will Schokland, with rising sea levels, once again become an island in the sea?

Schokland and its surroundings symbolize the history of the Netherlands and the lives of people on the border between water and land. For this reason, in 1995, UNESCO added the 1,300-hectare area as the first Dutch monument to the prestigious World Heritage List. Museum Schokland provides a fascinating insight into the history of this former island in the Zuiderzee and its preceding events.