Starting Point Slootdorp

In Slootdorp, the first permanent houses in the newly reclaimed Wieringermeer (1930) were built in 1931. They replaced the temporary barracks of polder workers and their families in what was then rather unromantically known as ‘Sluis 1’ (Sluice 1). These first houses stood at the junction of several canals, along a main road and a long village green – the Brink – bordered by lawns and service roads. The layout followed the village plan of the Delft planner and architect Granpré Molière, in which traditional Dutch brink villages formed the model. Shops and churches had to be located along that brink, with schools, sports fields, green spaces and cemeteries set slightly further away. The surrounding roads were lined with green strips, bushes and trees. And the farms had to be built in a range of traditional styles: large barns with gable or hip roofs, with the farmhouses beside, in front of or behind them, surrounded by plants.

• The purple Noord Route runs through a small copse along the Slootweg, originally planted to attract birds to the polder. Characteristic farmhouses line the quiet Wierweg. The route is waymarked in both directions with purple arrows.

• The green Zuid Route explores the green strips within the village and follows a zigzag course along farm tracks, a relatively new feature in the Wieringermeer. This section is made possible thanks to the cooperation of the farmers Frank Hoitink, Ane van Straten, Sam Ruijter, Arno Huybregts and Ben Top’s Poldertours. The route is waymarked in both directions with green arrows.