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39-589: The Oostvaardersplassen is located in the municipality of Lelystad , between the towns of Lelystad and Almere , in the province of Flevoland in the Netherlands . The area of 56 square kilometres (22 sq mi) is situated on the shore of the Markermeer in the center of the Flevopolder . The Oostvaardersplassen can be divided into a wet area in the northwest and a dry area in the southeast. In

78-473: A depth of tens of metres (yards) to the edges where it reaches the surface again. Originally the Veluwe was surrounded by a string of swamps, heavily populated with game such as deer and wild boar because these areas offered rich vegetation to feed on. Since the 1990s many plans are underway, or have already been implemented, to restore these wetlands by blocking the drainage systems built by farmers during

117-686: A fenced area in the Radio Kootwijk Reserve and the golden jackal is reaching the area, from which they are not native, but since the jackals reach the area all by their own they are seen as a welcome and new native species. Parts of the Veluwe that have been separated from each other by roads, towns and farmland are being reconnected by returning farmland to nature and creating wildlife crossings over highways. In 2012, nine of these overpasses had been built, each one about 50 metres (200') wide and covered with sand and vegetation to encourage animals to use it. Wildlife corridors connecting

156-438: A more sensitive natural area have been removed; taking down remaining fences, as around De Hoge Veluwe ; an old industrial zone near the village of Renkum was cleared away because it blocked a valley that was important for the migration of wildlife; and a military complex near Nunspeet was removed instead of being redeveloped as a business area. The Veluwe is a tourist destination, especially for Dutch people wanting to go on

195-515: A number of large herbivores to keep the area more open, including Konik horses, red deer and Heck cattle . These large grazing animals are kept out in the open all year round without supplemental feeding for the winter and early spring, and are allowed to behave as wild animals (without, for example, for now, castrating males). The ecosystem developing under their influence is thought to resemble those that would have existed on European river banks and deltas before human disturbance. However, there

234-475: A short vacation in their own country. Campsites and bungalow parks are the preferred place to stay for most visitors. There are more than 500 of these sites, most located on the outskirts of the natural area. Tourist attractions in the area include four zoos, over 50 museums including the Kröller-Müller art museum , and the royal palace Het Loo at Apeldoorn . The National Sports Centre Papendal ,

273-453: A total area of 150 square kilometres (58 sq mi). Furthermore, there is an option for a connection to the Veluwe forest. Eventually this could allow wild animals to move to and from Germany. Oostvaardersland was expected to be finished by 2014. However, the project ran into financial and political troubles. In 2012 the creation of Oostvaarderswold  [ nl ] , the 7 × 1 mi connecting corridor between Oostvaardersplassen and

312-498: Is a reduction of the numbers of remaining animals either by replacing or shooting which led to another outburst of protests and court cases. Mass mortalities were likely also caused by failure to connect the reserve to the Veluwe nearby due to conflicts with farmers and a lack of political support, abandonment of OostvaardersWold  [ nl ] due to political transition, and failure to introduce large predators. In many ways

351-530: Is also surrounded by a square of woodlands and parks and flat farmland. The importance of the landscape and sky is emphasized by several pieces of land art : engineers' work and works such as the Observatorium by Robert Morris (see below). The artificial islands of Marker Wadden lie immediately to the northwest of Lelystad. Construction started in 2016, and the first islands have already become important wildlife sites, with many species of birds coming to

390-544: Is some controversy about how natural the ecosystem is because it is a fenced in area with limited space, there are currently no wildlife corridors to connect the reserve to other places, it has a pumping station to control and prevent floods, and the area lacks large predators to keep the large numbers of herbivores in check such as the Eurasian wolf , Eurasian brown bear and Eurasian lynx . Before they were driven to extinction, large herbivores in this part of Europe included

429-647: Is the biggest general aviation airport in the Netherlands. It is owned wholly by Schiphol Group . Lelystad Airport has undergone major expansion, including the construction of a passenger terminal for commercial flights, as well as an extension of the runway. The original plan for this airport was to become the main gateway for passengers into the country, to alleviate some of the pressure from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. In turn, Schiphol would be able to focus on its role as international hub for lay-overs. Although

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468-662: The Batavia replica. After the Second World War the Zuiderzee Works continued, constructing the polder of Eastern Flevoland. In 1950 work commenced on several construction islands in the middle of the IJsselmeer . Lelystad-Haven was the largest island, and its wooden barracks housed a community of dyke-builders. In 1955 they reached the mainland, which made it possible to drive to Lelystad by car. One of

507-887: The peatlands were washed away, and the Lacus Flevo (in Roman times) grew to be the Almere (Middle Ages) and became the Zuiderzee . The Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) was the main transport route from Amsterdam to the North Sea and the Hanseatic League cities. Due to the many shipwrecks in Flevoland, Lelystad now houses the National Centre for Maritime History , with a museum and the shipyard that has built

546-457: The polder . The centre shield is the arms of engineer Cornelis Lely . The sealions reflect the history of the land. In the flag, the fleur-de-lis ( lily ) again takes a central point, referring to the name Lely. The yellow background reflects the precious land, and the blue lines the dykes and waterways. The flag of the province is similarly adorned with the fleur-de-lis to commemorate Lely. Lelystad maintains international relations with

585-411: The roe deer , red deer and fallow deer ), several species of snakes (including the common viper ), pine martens , foxes , and badgers . Furthermore, the bird raven was successfully reintroduced, and the introduced Reeves's muntjac and mouflon can sometimes be seen. Furthermore, there live semi-wild and wild cattle and horses like both semi-wild and wild Highland cattle in multiple areas of

624-411: The tarpan (wild horse), wisent (European bison), red deer and aurochs (wild cattle). The tarpan and aurochs are extinct, but Konik ponies and Heck cattle are able to act as functional equivalents, occupying a similar ecological niche. The only native large herbivores now missing from Oostvaardersplassen are the elk ( Alces alces) , the roe deer "formerly present in the park", the wild boar and

663-566: The wisent . There is a chance that the wild boar will find its way naturally from the Veluwe . The reserve is the subject of decades of management reports and protests against the large reported number of grazers dying by starvation or shot to death, while the animals are kept behind a fence and cannot migrate. During a particularly harsh winter in 2005, many animals in the Oostvaardersplassen died of starvation, leading to public outcry against alleged animal cruelty and leading to

702-463: The European red fox , and Nicrophorus vespillo burying beetle. Before the establishment of the reserve, the dry area was a nursery for willow trees, and in the first year hundreds of seedlings could be found on each square metre. This led to concern that a dense woodland would develop, significantly reducing the value of the habitat for water birds. To avoid this, the park's managers brought in

741-554: The European-wide network of habitats to which Oostvaardersplassen belongs. The creation of Oostvaardersland will allow seasonal small scale migration and take some strain off the big grazers in winter. In the summer, Oostvaardersplassen will offer rich grazing and the sea winds will keep biting insects at bay, in the winter, the Horsterwold will offer protection from cold winds and supply browse. Oostvaardersland will comprise

780-466: The Horsterwold, was stopped, and four members of the regional parliament resigned. The government then planned to sell back the property to the previous owners for less money than it originally paid for the property; according to European nature laws it would then have to turn other lands into wilderness areas to compensate for the loss of the Oostvaarderswold nature area. As above-mentioned,

819-631: The Netherlands, stretching 60 km (40 miles) from north to south, and reaching heights of up to 110 metres (360'). The Veluwe was formed by the Saalian glacial during the Pleistocene epoch , some 200,000 years ago. Glaciers some 200 metres (600') thick pushed the sand deposits in the Rhine and Maas Delta sideways, creating the hills which now form most of the Veluwe. Because the hills are made of sand, rain water disappears rapidly, and then it flows at

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858-470: The Oostvaardersplassen is an isolated area; it is in a polder and there are currently no corridors connecting it to other nature reserves. The "Ecological Main Structure" plan proposes connections between nature reserves in the Netherlands, calling for a corridor to be created toward nearby Horsterwold  [ nl ] . The resulting network, called Oostvaardersland , would be part of Natura 2000 ,

897-482: The Suriname twin city of Lelydorp . Veluwe The Veluwe ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈveːlyʋə] ) is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km ; 420 sq. mi.) in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands . The Veluwe features many different landscapes, including woodland , heath , some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts. The Veluwe is the largest push moraine complex in

936-507: The Veluwe to other wildlife areas such as the Oostvaardersplassen in the Netherlands are being developed and further connections to Germany are an option. It is hoped that by doing so the genetic diversity of the wildlife population will increase. In order to turn the entire Veluwe into one IUCN ( Category II ) standard National Park a number of actions have been taken, or are planned, including: bungalow parks located in

975-419: The Veluwe, semi-wild Sayaguesa cattle and two semi-wild horse breeds: New-forest pony and Icelandic pony . Since 2019 the wolf is officially back with a female and male pair in the northern Veluwe (spring 2019) who had their offspring in the summer of 2019 and one female wolf in middle Veluwe. The prognosis are that many more wolves will reclaim the area. The European bison is also reintroduced as pilot in

1014-612: The culling strategy. In the winter of 2017–2018, almost 3.300 deer, horses and cattle starved to death dividing the Dutch public and leading to demonstrations and individuals feeding hay to the animals despite police arrests. The Province asked the Van Geel Commission to write a policy which was presented in April and approved on 11 July 2018. This Van Geel report advised to manage the terrain instead of rewilding. The consequence

1053-538: The eastern side of the city. There are three on-ramps connecting this motorway to Lelystad, allowing traffic to travel northbound to Emmeloord and the province of Friesland , or southbound to Almere and the Randstad region. The N302 provincial road connects Lelystad to the south-east with Harderwijk and the province of Gelderland beyond. The N307 connects Lelystad across the Houtribdijk to Enkhuizen and

1092-401: The expansion of Lelystad Airport has been finished, the airport has not yet opened for passengers due to various political reasons. As of 2022, the government has decided to delay the opening of the terminals with at least two years, and even then the opening will not be guaranteed. Lelystad has a small inland port , several marinas , and a canal system which also functions to aid in managing

1131-489: The fertile "good lands" of the Betuwe (from * bataz , good, and * awjō , island) to the south. There are 21 municipalities in the Veluwe region: Apeldoorn , Arnhem , Barneveld , Brummen , Ede , Elburg , Epe , Ermelo , Harderwijk , Hattem , Heerde , Nijkerk , Nunspeet , Oldebroek , Putten , Renkum , Rheden , Rozendaal , Scherpenzeel , Voorst and Wageningen . The sparsely populated, infertile Veluwe acts as

1170-765: The islands during the breeding season. Lelystad has several tourist attractions, including: Lelystad hosts many one-day events like the Lelystad Airshow, the Water Festival, the National Old Timer Day, Lelystad Speedway, Architecture day and several sports events. On the Midland Circuit many motor , kart and stock car racing events and several autoclub meetings are held. On the coast there are several marinas. Lelystad can be reached by air, water, and land. Lelystad Airport

1209-464: The last 150 years. This results in very dry heathland changing into wetland within a span of just a few hundred metres (yards). The Wisselse Veen near the village of Epe , on the northeastern Veluwe, offers a good example of this. Veluwe derives from Proto-Germanic * falwaz (pale, fallow) and * awjō (island). The name corresponds to "fallow lands" in English and probably was used in opposition to

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1248-400: The northeastern part of the city. There were 2,059 residents with an Antillean background. Lelystad is the largest municipality in the Netherlands in area, but a large part of that area is water: Markermeer and IJsselmeer . Another major area is the internationally famous nature park of Oostvaardersplassen , which arose naturally when the polder of South Flevoland was drained. Lelystad

1287-521: The plan to connect to the veluwe in Gelderland also failed. Lelystad Lelystad ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈleːlistɑt] ) is a Dutch municipality and the capital city of the province of Flevoland in the central Netherlands . The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely , who engineered the Afsluitdijk that made

1326-399: The province of North Holland beyond, and to Dronten and beyond that to Kampen in the province of Overijssel . The N309 connects Lelystad to Dronten and beyond that to Elburg in the province of Gelderland . The honeycomb grid in the arms of Lelystad represents the dykes , built with six-edged concrete or basalt blocks. The colour gold indicates the high costs of the project of making

1365-487: The reclamation possible. Lelystad is situated approximately three metres (10 feet) below sea level . Lelystad is built on the seabed of the former Zuiderzee . About 6,500 years ago, this wetland was above high tide level and inhabited; the Netherlands have steadily subsided since. Near Lelystad at Swifterbant , the oldest human skeletons in Western Europe were discovered. Due to rising water levels and storms ,

1404-632: The three pumping stations , which drained the polder in June 1957, was the diesel-powered Wortman in Lelystad-Haven. Until 1967 the only inhabitants of Lelystad were technical engineers and laborers and superintendents, living on the former construction island. Lelystad has a large population of Surinamese origin (5,225); most residents of a non-Western background live in the east of the city. Lelystad also has significant Moroccan (2,615) and Turkish (2,278) communities, most of whom reside in

1443-428: The traditional linguistic boundary between Low Franconian dialects (i.e. essentially Dutch and closely related dialects) to the west and south and Low Saxon dialects further north and east. There are both coniferous and deciduous forests on the Veluwe, and some 500 different plant species can be found. The region is also home to many different species of animals, such as wild boar , several species of deer (like

1482-653: The water levels in the rest of the polder . The canal system connects to the Markermeer with a lock to the southwest of Lelystad, and connects the city and its industrial areas to all other towns and their respective industrial areas in the polder. the Weesp–Lelystad railway ( Flevolijn ) extends south from Lelystad Centrum railway station and connects the city with Almere , and to the Randstad region beyond. The Lelystad–Zwolle railway ( Hanzelijn ) extends north from Lelystad and connects it with Dronten , Kampen and Zwolle . The A6 motorway runs along Lelystad on

1521-443: The wet area along the Markermeer , there are large reedbeds on clay, where greylag geese often feed. Oostvaardersplassen is also a Special Protection Area for birdlife such as the great cormorant , common spoonbill , great egret , white-tailed eagle , Eurasian bittern , common kingfisher , grey heron , common raven , barnacle goose , little egret , Savi's warbler , and bearded reedling , among many other animals such as

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