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[Video] How did the Dutch create the Netherlands?

[Video] How did the Dutch create the Netherlands?

Ever heard the saying “God created the world but the Dutch created the Netherlands”?

As a country, the Netherlands is known for being largely under sea level, with the Dutch reclaiming land from the sea to build their country. While this means the country has to have some top-notch water management systems, it does make the Netherlands a really unique place to visit or live in. 

If you’ve ever sat back and wondered how the Dutch managed to reclaim land and create the Netherlands all those years ago, then this video is for you!

How the Dutch created the Netherlands

The Netherlands you know and love wasn’t always as big as it is now - actually, around half of its landmass is made up of reclaimed land. The Dutch have been reclaiming land from lakes and the sea for around 600 years. But how did they develop the infrastructure and technology that they needed to do this and prevent extensive flooding? Watch the video below to find out.

That's some seriously impressive stuff!

Victoria Séveno

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Victoria Séveno

Victoria grew up in Amsterdam, before moving to the UK to study English and Related Literature at the University of York and completing her NCTJ course at the Press Association...

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Stefanvis2 06:38 | 3 October 2021

We did not build Nederland, we reclaimed it quite literally. Fact is that The Netherlands had way more land before, but the practice of removing the garments caused the seas to break inland and flooded mostly North Holland from what is known now as Waddenzee to what was then known as het Almere, a small lake where the city of Almere is now. This flood happened about 1200 years ago and was largely man made disaster, thousands died. Then they (monks from Egmond) started to lay dikes to start reclaiming the land and protect it. Still we have not reclaimed all of the IJsselmeer. People like the lake better than build on it, so a lot of people oppose the reclaiming of the land in favour of Nature. Which is understandable. But slowly the land will have to be reclaimed, as we see with Amsterdam IJburg and of course Flevoland. So we have destroyed our land before with a lot of death attached to it, and spend 1200 years to rebuild it. We did not create it, i am sorry... Its just a way to make us feel better for our huge egoistic failures.

ZacharyFleming2 21:03 | 3 October 2021

Hey that’s my video! Thanks for sharing!