Afsluitdijk
The 32 Km Barrier Dam Of 1932 That Closed Off The Zuiderzee And Made The IJsselmeer, Rebuilt And Reinforced In The 2020s · Kornwerderzand, Friesland
The Afsluitdijk is the 32 km barrier dam that closed off the Zuiderzee from the Wadden Sea in 1932, turning a tidal inland sea into the freshwater IJsselmeer and making possible the reclamation of the great polders of Flevoland. It runs dead straight between Den Oever in North Holland and Zurich in Friesland, carrying the A7 motorway and a cycle path, with the tidal Wadden Sea on one side and the calm lake on the other. It was the centrepiece of the Zuiderzee Works planned by the engineer Cornelis Lely, and it is still one of the country's key sea defences, reinforced in the 2020s. Visitors stop at the Dudok monument and its viewing tower where the last gap was closed, at the Afsluitdijk Wadden Center at Kornwerderzand with its aquarium and roof view, and at the casemates that saw fighting in May 1940, and some cycle across into the wind. The honest caveat: it is a motorway on a dike, long and repetitive, with only a few places to stop, and an hour or two is enough for most people.
A7 motorway dam between Den Oever (North Holland) and Zurich (Friesland); the Wadden Center at Kornwerderzand, Kornwerderzand, Friesland, Netherlands
The dam and the A7 are open at all hours. The Afsluitdijk Wadden Center at Kornwerderzand is usually open roughly Wednesday to Sunday and closed Monday and Tuesday, with longer opening in school holidays - confirm the season. The monument car park is free and always open. Stopping on the motorway is forbidden: leave at the exits for the monument, Breezanddijk or Kornwerderzand. By public transport, an express bus between Alkmaar and Leeuwarden crosses the dam - confirm its stops. Nothing needs booking except group visits.