Amsteldiepdijk is a dike between Van Ewijcksluis and the island of Wieringen . It was built in 1924 and closes a portion of the Amsteldiep and of the Ulkediep .
66-692: The Afsluitdijk ( Dutch: [ˈɑfslœydɛik] ; West Frisian : Ofslútdyk [ˈɔfslyːdik] ; "closure dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands . It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of Zurich in Friesland province, over a length of 32 kilometres (20 mi) and a width of 90 metres (300 ft), at an initial height above Amsterdam Ordnance Datum of between 6.7 metres (22 ft) along
132-422: A Dutch newspaper. However, the same test also revealed that native Dutch speakers understood 63.9% of a spoken Frisian text, 59.4% of a spoken Afrikaans text and 89.4% of a spoken Dutch text, read aloud by native speakers of the respective languages. The saying "As milk is to cheese, are English and Fries" describes the observed similarity between Frisian and English. One rhyme that is sometimes used to demonstrate
198-462: A few runic inscriptions from the region which are probably older and possibly in the Frisian language. These runic writings, however, usually do not amount to more than single- or few-word inscriptions, and cannot be said to constitute literature as such. The Middle Frisian language period ( c. 1550 – c. 1820 ) is rooted in geopolitics and the consequent fairly abrupt halt in
264-692: A further increase in the height of the dam, by approximately 2 metres. The Afsluitdijk is a fundamental part of the larger Zuiderzee Works , damming off the Zuiderzee , a salt water inlet of the North Sea , and turning it into the fresh water lake of the IJsselmeer . It is a major land reclamation project and a quicker road-connection between the North and West of the Netherlands. The highway on
330-557: A prominent grammatical feature in almost all West Frisian dialects, with the notable exception of Súdwesthoeksk . Therefore, the New Frisian period is considered to have begun at this time, around 1820. Most speakers of West Frisian live in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands . Friesland has 643,000 inhabitants (2005), of whom 94% can understand spoken West Frisian, 74% can speak West Frisian, 75% can read West Frisian, and 27% can write it. For over half of
396-547: A result of the North Sea Flood of 1953 , with the section between the Stevinsluizen and Lorentzsluizen sluice complexes seeing the crest level raised to 7.8 metres. Major upgrade works commenced in 2019, with one of the design conditions being that only limited wave overtopping during the design storm condition be permitted. The design proposed by the successful contractor to meet this criterion will see
462-575: A single wave could reach it. The IJsselmeer side of the dam was designed with a lower factor of safety than the Wadden Sea side, as it was anticipated that even under unfavourable conditions, such as a southwest storm over the IJsselmeer with a high average water level, the waves would not exceed about 3.5 metres above Amsterdam Ordnance Datum. Consequently, the berm was constructed to a height of approximately 4 metres. The inner berm slope toward
528-541: Is a West Germanic language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland ( Fryslân ) in the north of the Netherlands , mostly by those of Frisian ancestry . It is the most widely spoken of the Frisian languages . In the study of the evolution of English , West Frisian is notable as being the most closely related foreign tongue to the various dialects of Old English spoken across the Heptarchy , these being part of
594-637: Is almost always just called "Frisian" (in Dutch: Fries for the Frisian language and Westfries for the Dutch dialect). The unambiguous name used for the West Frisian language by linguists in the Netherlands is Westerlauwers Fries [ˈʋɛstərˌlʌu.ərs ˈfris] (West Lauwers Frisian), the Lauwers being a border river that separates the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen . In
660-463: Is heavy stone; the seaward side is boulder clay with brushwood mattresses above, weighed down by basalt boulders and old concrete. Previous experience had showed that boulder clay was superior to just sand or clay for a structure like the Afsluitdijk, with the added benefit that till was in plentiful supply in the area; it could be retrieved in large quantities by simply dredging it from
726-589: Is no difference between ei and ij , whereas in Clay Frisian, there is no difference between ei and aai . Other phonological differences include: Some lexical differences between Clay Frisian and Wood Frisian include: West Frisian uses the Latin alphabet. A, E, O and U may be accompanied by circumflex or acute accents. In alphabetical listings both I and Y are usually found between H and J. When two words differ only because one has I and
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#1732764699853792-512: Is not a proper Frisian") was used, according to legend, by the 16th century Frisian rebel and pirate Pier Gerlofs Donia as a shibboleth that he forced his captives to repeat to distinguish Frisians from Dutch and Low Germans . Here is a short example of the West Frisian language in comparison with English , Old English , and Dutch . Not all Frisian varieties spoken in Dutch Friesland are mutually intelligible . The varieties on
858-518: Is still visible on the side of the lake Amstelmeer. The government decided that it was the fault of the contractor, and ultimately he had to pay damages to the state. Prime contractors joined forces in a consortium, the Society for the implementation of work of the Zuiderzee . This small dike is important as the first time that boulder clay was used in the construction of dam. It remained to build
924-468: Is that in the Old Frisian period ( c. 1150 – c. 1550 ) grammatical cases still occurred. Some of the texts that are preserved from this period are from the 12th or 13th, but most are from the 14th and 15th centuries. Generally, these texts are restricted to legal documents. Although the earliest definite written examples of Frisian are from approximately the 9th century, there are
990-553: The Staatscommissie Lorentz (SCL) (English: Lorentz State Commission) were primarily used, based on storm surges that had occurred in the period 1825–1926. According to committee's predictions, if the Zuiderzee had been closed during the 1825–1926 period, the highest water level reached would have been 3.1 metres above Amsterdam Ordnance Datum at Den Oever, and about 3.4 metres on the Friesland coast. However,
1056-663: The Anglo-Frisian branch of the West Germanic family. The name "West Frisian" is only used outside the Netherlands, to distinguish this language from the closely related Frisian languages of East Frisian , including Saterland Frisian , and North Frisian spoken in Germany . Within the Netherlands, however, "West Frisian" refers to the West Frisian dialect of the Dutch language while the West Frisian language
1122-607: The Dutch Golden Age provided a protected entrance and exit for the harbour of Amsterdam and several other important Dutch sea harbours. Furthermore, the Zuiderzee provided relatively shallow and calm fishing grounds for the many towns bordering the bay. However, the opening of the North Sea Canal (Noordzeekanaal) in 1876 gave a much shorter direct entrance to the Amsterdam harbour, and overfishing had depleted
1188-567: The Wadden Sea ; the other complex at Kornwerderzand is composed of the Lorentz locks (named after the physicist) and two series of five sluices, making a total of 25 discharge sluices. It is necessary to routinely discharge water from the lake since it is continually fed by rivers and streams (most notably the IJssel river that gives its name to the lake) and polders draining their water into
1254-455: The storm surge of 1953 , would bring the reality of such extremely rare cases to light. In determining the height for the construction of the inner berm, different considerations were employed compared to those for the main dam crest height. The primary requirement for the crest was to ensure the dike would not be breached during the most severe anticipated storm. To achieve this, the crest was designed to be elevated enough so that, at most, only
1320-489: The 11 towns, use two names (both Dutch and West Frisian) or only a West Frisian name. Within ISO 639 West Frisian falls under the codes fy and fry , which were assigned to the collective Frisian languages. The mutual intelligibility in reading between Dutch and Frisian is poor. A cloze test in 2005 revealed native Dutch speakers understood 31.9% of a West Frisian newspaper, 66.4% of an Afrikaans newspaper and 97.1% of
1386-599: The 1953 storm. A decision was made to prioritize the Delta Works while also incrementally increasing the Afsluitdijk height to 7.4 metres. On 23 September 1954, on the centenary of Cornelis Lely, a statue, made by Mari Andriessen , was unveiled by Queen Juliana on the North Holland side of the Afsluitdijk. On May 9, 2007, the statue was relocated near to the Vlieter Monument. The official unveiling, on
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#17327646998531452-460: The 1970s. Frisian is still spoken by some Dutch Canadians , Dutch Americans , Dutch Australians and Dutch New Zealanders . Apart from the use of West Frisian as a first language, it is also spoken as a second language by about 120,000 people in the province of Friesland. West Frisian is considered by UNESCO to be a language in danger of becoming extinct , officially listed as "vulnerable". In 1951, Frisian language activists, protesting at
1518-590: The Afsluitdijk as in the southern Netherlands, the intense wave action resulted in severe damage to a large portion of the block stone, which was later replaced by basalt. In response to recommendations from the Deltacommissie , the commission responsible for the Delta Works , it was deemed necessary to elevate the dike level. However, this was considered less urgent compared to the issues in Zeeland after
1584-492: The Afsluitdijk was the initial demonstration site for a 130 km/h (81 mph) speed limit in the Netherlands. The Afsluitdijk (literally translated: shut-off-dyke) was completed in 1932, thereby shutting off the Zuiderzee (lit: Southern Sea) from the North Sea . Until then, the Zuiderzee had been a large bay south of the North Sea which gave maritime access to five provinces of The Netherlands, and particularly during
1650-605: The Clay Frisian and Wood Frisian dialects are the words my ("me"), dy ("you"), hy ("he"), sy ("she" or "they"), wy ("we"), and by ("by"), which are pronounced in the Wood Frisian as mi , di , hi , si , wi , and bi and in Clay Frisian as mij , dij , hij , sij , wij , and bij . Other differences are in the pronunciation of the diphthongs ei , ai , and aai which are pronounced ij , ai , and aai in Wood Frisian, but ôi , òi , and ôi in Clay Frisian. Thus, in Wood Frisian, there
1716-589: The Frisian landscape. In the western and north-western parts of the province, the region where Clay Frisian is spoken, the soil is made up of thick marine clay, hence the name. While in the Clay Frisian-speaking area ditches are used to separate the pastures, in the eastern part of the province, where the soil is sandy, and water sinks away much faster, rows of trees are used to that purpose. The natural landscape in which Wâldfrysk exists mirrors The Weald and North Weald areas of south-eastern England –
1782-613: The Frisian language has been lost. Old Frisian bore a striking similarity to Old English . This similarity was reinforced in the late Middle Ages by the Ingvaeonic sound shift, which affected Frisian and English, but the other West Germanic varieties hardly at all. Both English and Frisian are marked by the suppression of the Germanic nasal in a word like us ( ús ), soft ( sêft ) or goose ( goes ): see Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law . Also, when followed by some vowels
1848-414: The Frisian poet Gysbert Japiks (1603–1666), a schoolteacher and cantor from the city of Bolsward ( Boalsert ), who largely fathered modern West Frisian literature and orthography, was an exception to the rule. His example was not followed until the 19th century, when entire generations of Frisian authors and poets appeared. This coincided with the introduction of the so-called newer breaking system,
1914-501: The Germanic k developed into a ch sound. For example, the West Frisian for cheese and church is tsiis and tsjerke , whereas in Dutch they are kaas and kerk . Modern English and Frisian on the other hand have become very divergent, largely due to wholesale Norse and French imports into English and similarly heavy Dutch and Low German influences on Frisian. One major difference between Old Frisian and modern Frisian
1980-428: The Germanic words wald and weald are cognate. Although Klaaifrysk and Wâldfrysk are mutually very easily intelligible, there are, at least to native West Frisian speakers, a few very conspicuous differences. These include the pronunciation of the words my ("me"), dy ("thee"), hy ("he"), sy ("she" or "they"), wy ("we") and by ("by"), and the diphthongs ei and aai . Of
2046-476: The IJsselmeer. The height of the crest of the Afsluitdijk was originally determined based on insufficient data about wave run-up. This became apparent soon after the first significant storm surge following the completion of the works, which occurred in December 1936. During the storm, the water in the Wadden Sea reached to around half a metre below the dike. For the crown height, storm surge heights indicated by
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2112-486: The Zuiderzee Society to investigate whether reclamation was feasible. One of the most prominent members of the society was Cornelis Lely , a civil engineer , prominent member and later chairman of the society. In 1891 he designed the first plan for the closure and reclamation of the Zuiderzee. In 1913, Lely was Minister of Water Management, and land reclamation was included in the government program. His plan
2178-484: The bicycle path was closed. Rijkswaterstaat (the ministry which oversees the dyke) further increased the height of the dyke beginning in 2018. As part of the renovation program, a series of artistic projects were incorporated into the dyke, known as the "Icoon Afsluitdijk." Daan Roosegaarde led the artistic aspects. The three designs of light and interaction developed by Roosegaarde and his team are entitled Gates of Light, Windvogel and Glowing Nature. The improvement of
2244-520: The bottom of the Zuiderzee. Work started at four points: on both sides of the mainland and on two specially made construction-islands ( Kornwerderzand and Breezanddijk ) along the line of the future dyke . From these points, the dyke slowly grew by ships depositing till into the open sea until it breached the surface. The nascent dyke was then strengthened from land by basalt rocks and mats of willow switch at its base. The dyke could then be finished off by raising it further with sand and finally clay for
2310-454: The commission drew attention to the fact that in a very rare and unfavourable set of circumstances, even higher storm surge heights were possible. All values in centimetres. Z and A are in centimetres above NAP (Normaal Amsterdams Peil/Amsterdam Ordnance Datum). The lower value was based on the assumption that wave run-up in the shallow area near the Frisian coast would be reduced. However, it became evident as early as 1934 that this assumption
2376-469: The dyke had been closed. The amount of material used is estimated at 23 million m (810 million cu ft) of sand and 13.5 million m (480 million cu ft) of till and over the years an average of around four to five thousand workers were involved with the construction every day, relieving some of the unemployment following the Great Depression . Besides
2442-469: The dyke itself, there was also the necessary construction of two complexes of shipping locks and discharge sluices at both ends of the dyke. The complex at Den Oever includes the Stevin lock (named after the son of mathematician and engineer Simon Stevin , Hendrik Stevin, who was the first making a plan to close the Zuiderzee in 1667) and three series of five sluices for discharging the IJsselmeer into
2508-429: The early Middle Ages the Frisian lands stretched from the area around Bruges , in what is now Belgium , to the river Weser , in northern Germany . At that time, the Frisian language was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast. Today this region is sometimes referred to as "Greater Frisia " or Frisia Magna , and many of the areas within it still treasure their Frisian heritage, even though in most places
2574-477: The economy by reducing delays. After the cost–benefit analysis of all potential solutions was considered, a decision was made to strengthen the existing locks. However, it is quite possible that a naviduct will be built to replace the locks when they reach the end of their useful life in 2050. The work started in April 2020 and was planned to take three years; during the work, the highway remained in operation, however
2640-678: The exclusive use of Dutch in the courts, caused a riot in Leeuwarden . The resulting inquiry led to the establishment of a committee of inquiry. This committee recommended that the Frisian language should receive legal status as a minority language. Subsequently, the Use of Frisian in Legal Transactions Act of 11 May 1956 was passed, which provided for the use of Frisian in transactions with the courts. Since 1956, West Frisian has an official status along with and equal to Dutch in
2706-427: The future water level of the IJsselmeer (or Amstelmeer) was designed to be steeper than the outer slope, with a ratio of approximately 1:3. The majority of the dam's core consisted of sand, while boulder clay on the exterior provided resistance against water flow, limiting seepage and enhancing dike breach protection. A layer of armourstone , composed of basalt rock, was utilized on the outer slope. During construction,
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2772-461: The inhabitants of the province of Friesland, 55% ( c. 354,000 people ), West Frisian is the native language. In the central east, West Frisian speakers spill over the province border, with some 4,000–6,000 of them actually living in the province of Groningen , in the triangular area of the villages Marum (West Frisian: Mearum ), De Wilp ( De Wylp ), and Opende ( De Grinzer Pein ). Also, many West Frisians have left their province in
2838-466: The islands are rather divergent, and Glottolog distinguishes four languages: The dialects within mainstream mainland West Frisian are all readily intelligible. Three are usually distinguished: The Súdwesthoeksk ("South Western") dialect, which is spoken in an area called de Súdwesthoeke ("the Southwest Corner"), deviates from mainstream West Frisian in that it does not adhere to
2904-520: The last 60 years for more prosperous parts of the Netherlands. Therefore, possibly as many as 150,000 West Frisian speakers live in other Dutch provinces, particularly in the urban agglomeration in the West, and in neighbouring Groningen and newly reclaimed Flevoland . A Frisian diaspora exists abroad; Friesland sent more emigrants than any other Dutch province between the Second World War and
2970-463: The line of the dyke there were deeper underwater trenches where the tidal current was much stronger than elsewhere. These had been considered to be major obstacles to completing the dyke, but all of them proved to be relatively straightforward. Two years earlier than initially thought, the Zuiderzee ceased to be, as the last tidal trench, the Vlieter , was closed by a final bucket of till. The IJsselmeer
3036-550: The line was never undertaken by the Dutch track operator ( ProRail ), for reasons of cost and relative lack of benefits. The reservation and abutments for the rail line were utilized instead for a second carriageway for the dyke's two-lane highway in the 1970s, transforming the latter into today's four-lane A7 motorway. West Frisian language West Frisian , Frisian, or English on Expert (West Frisian: Frysk [frisk] or Westerlauwersk Frysk ; Dutch : Fries [fris] , also Westerlauwers Fries ),
3102-420: The main dike body was completed in 2022. Additional works (the fish migration river, new locks and the pumping station) were at that moment not yet ready. Provision for a railway line linking North Holland and Friesland (between Anna Paulowna and Harlingen ) had been included on the Afsluitdijk, in the form of a linear reservation , along with extra drawbridge abutments at the locks. However, construction of
3168-454: The oath in Frisian in courts anywhere in the Netherlands . Primary education in Friesland was made bilingual in 1956, which means West Frisian can be used as a teaching medium. In the same year, West Frisian became an official school subject, having been introduced to primary education as an optional extra in 1937. It was not until 1980, however, that West Frisian had the status of a required subject in primary schools, and not until 1993 that it
3234-535: The occasion of the 75th anniversary of the dyke, was performed on 24 May 2007 by Prince Willem-Alexander. In 2012, the State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment , Joop Atsma , issued a statement detailing the factors influencing the decision to replace the locks at Kornwerderzand. A naviduct would have a high construction cost compared with standard locks and bridges, but would benefit
3300-423: The other one has Y (such as stikje and stykje ), the word with I precedes the one with Y. In handwriting, IJ (used for Dutch loanwords and personal names) is written as a single letter (see IJ (digraph) ), whereas in print the string IJ is used. In alphabetical listings IJ is most commonly considered to consist of the two letters I and J, although in dictionaries there is an entry IJ between X and Z telling
3366-484: The palpable similarity between Frisian and English is "Bread, butter and green cheese is good English and good Fries", which does not sound very different from " Brea, bûter en griene tsiis is goed Ingelsk en goed Frysk ". Another rhyme on this theme, " Bûter, brea en griene tsiis; wa't dat net sizze kin is gjin oprjochte Fries " ( example ; in English, "Butter, bread and green cheese, whoever can't say that
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#17327646998533432-450: The province of Friesland . It is used in many domains of Frisian society, among which are education, legislation, and administration. In 2010, some sixty public transportation ticket machines in Friesland and Groningen added a West Frisian-language option. Although in the courts of law the Dutch language is still mainly used, in the province of Friesland , Frisians have the right to give evidence in their own language. Also, they can take
3498-458: The section at Friesland, and 7.4 metres (24 ft) where it crosses the deep channel of the Vlieter. The height at the greater sea depths west of Friesland was required to be a minimum of 7 metres everywhere when originally constructed. Increases to the height of the Afsluitdijk have been made several times since 1958, when height increases were undertaken during regular maintenance periods as
3564-412: The shallow bay. In the second half of the 19th century, the Dutch population was exploding, and there was an increasing need for land for agriculture and animal husbandry. The Dutch already had centuries of experience of building dykes around lakes, emptying them and converting them to fertile polderland . The next large project was to convert the Zuiderzee into polder. In 1886, a few notables established
3630-501: The slopes were partially fortified with basalt columns and Belgian block stone Belgische Bloksteen , a block-shaped, hard variety of limestone. Block stone served as a more affordable and widely available alternative to basalt, and the Dutch Government resisted purchasing large quantities of basalt to avoid potential price increases, instead planning to gradually replace the block stone with basalt. On 12 and 13 May 1940 it
3696-401: The so-called newer breaking system, a prominent grammatical feature in the three other main dialects. The Noardhoeksk ("Northern") dialect, spoken in the north eastern corner of the province, does not differ much from Wood Frisian. By far the two most-widely spoken West Frisian dialects are Clay Frisian ( Klaaifrysk ) and Wood Frisian ( Wâldfrysk ). Both these names are derived from
3762-432: The surface of the dyke, on which grass was planted. As the dyke grew, physicist Hendrik Antoon Lorentz calculated the force of the tide as the smaller gap made it stronger. Ten thousand workers, 27 large dredges, 13 floating cranes, 132 barges, and 88 tugs worked on the project at the end, timed to close the dyke at low tide; it was finished on 28 May 1932. Construction progressed better than expected; at three points along
3828-474: The two, Wâldfrysk probably has more speakers, but because the western clay area was originally the more prosperous part of the mostly agricultural province, Klaaifrysk has had the larger influence on the West Frisian standardised language. There are few if any differences in morphology or syntax among the West Frisian dialects, all of which are easily mutually intelligible , but there are slight variances in lexicon . The largest difference between
3894-442: The use of Frisian as a written language. Until the 16th century, West Frisian was widely spoken and written, but from 1500 onwards it became an almost exclusively oral language, mainly used in rural areas. This was in part due to the occupation of its stronghold, the Dutch province of Friesland ( Fryslân ), in 1498, by Albert III, Duke of Saxony , who replaced West Frisian as the language of government with Dutch. This practice
3960-434: The user to browse back to I. Amsteldiepdijk It is often considered to be the first work of engineering of the Zuiderzee works . With the small dike, the former island (1200 to 1932) of Wieringen is connected on the western side with the mainland of North Holland and is no longer an island. The dam serves as a prototype in some way to works to come on the future IJsselmeer . Some errors served as lessons. A collapse
4026-410: Was born, even though it was still salty at the time. The dyke itself however was not finished as it still needed to be brought up to its required height and a road linking Friesland and North Holland (the current A7 / E22 motorway ) also remained to be built. On 25 September 1933, the Afsluitdijk was officially opened, with a monument designed by architect Willem Marinus Dudok marking the spot where
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#17327646998534092-469: Was continued under the Habsburg rulers of the Netherlands ( Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , and his son Philip II, King of Spain ). When the Netherlands became independent in 1585 , West Frisian did not regain its former status, because Holland rose as the dominant part of the Netherlands and its language, Dutch, as the dominant language in judicial, administrative and religious affairs. In this period
4158-511: Was given the same position in secondary education. In 1997, the province of Friesland officially changed its name from the Dutch form Friesland to the West Frisian Fryslân . So far 4 out of 18 municipalities ( Dantumadiel , De Fryske Marren , Noardeast-Fryslân , Súdwest-Fryslân ) have changed their official geographical names from Dutch to West Frisian. Some other municipalities, like Heerenveen and
4224-412: Was incorrect due to the narrowness of the shallow zone. To address this issue, a section of the dike body was removed. Despite these adjustments, a 1937 storm revealed that they were insufficient, leading to an increase in the crest height to 7.4 metres. Later research on storm surge flood levels in the Netherlands by Pieter Jacobus Wemelsfelder and Johan van Veen , along with the devastating effects of
4290-511: Was initially opposed, particularly for its huge costs and also by the fishing industry. But after the flood of 1916 and the famine of 1918 , opinions were ready for this mega project and the parliament agreed, but it took another 9 years, until 1927, before the works actually began. Wieringen was connected to the mainland with the short Amsteldiepdijk in 1925; the Afsluitdijk would be 32 kilometres (20 miles) in length. The inland side
4356-522: Was the site of the Battle of the Afsluitdijk , where Fort Kornwerderzand became the only Dutch line of defense that successfully withstood a Wehrmacht attack during the conflict, and was one of the few Blitzkrieg defeats suffered by the Wehrmacht . Following the 1953 storm, a subsequent storm in 1954 caused significant damage to the Afsluitdijk. Although the 1953 water level was not as extreme at
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