The spectacular construction of the Dutch Afsluitdijk in 1929 in color!

The spectacular construction of the Dutch Afsluitdijk in 1929 in color!

Rejissyor: Ricks Film Restoration. The "Afsluitdijk" is part of the Zuiderzee Works in The Netherlands and part of an elaborate plan in the early part of the 20th century to protect The Netherlands from the sea as well as to create new (farm) land. The dyke separates the Wadden sea from the former Zuiderzee for which its name was changed to "IJsselmeer". Its construction started in 1927 based on the plans that were developed by engineer Cornelis Lely. His first plan to enclose the Zuiderzee dates from as early as 1891! In 1932 the last closing hole, the "Vlieter", was closed. A year later, the dike was opened to road traffic. A monument was erected on the site where the Afsluitdijk was closed, the Vlietermonument. Locks for shipping and discharge sluices are located on both sides of the Afsluitdijk. Closest to the province of North Holland, near Den Oever, are the Stevin locks. The Lorentz locks are located at Kornwerderzand, more than 4 km from the province of Friesland. The entire dyke is 32.5 km long, the water barrier part is 30 km; its width is 90 meters. A traffic road connects the two provinces over the Afsluitdijk. This road is part of Rijksweg 7. The road is not at the highest point of the dike but south of it, so that the Wadden Sea is not visible from the road. There is a cycle path between the highway and the highest point. Since cyclists are not allowed on a highway, the cycle path should be considered as a separate road. Once the IJsselmeer was formed, the water turned from salt to fresh in the 1930s. This had a huge impact on the lives of the populations of the surrounding fishing villages like Volendam, Marken, Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Urk a.o. No longer could they fish for sea fish but had to convert to eal fishing and other fresh water fish. This film highlights the rather primitive conditions under which this dyke was constructed. The bedding of the dike consists of huge woven wicker nets on which heavy bolders were thrown by hand. A diagram in the film explains the construction method. T

https://archive.org/details/the-spectacular-construction-of-the-dutch-afsluitdijk-in-1929-in-color-ai-enhanc · Internet Archive: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/