Oostvaardersplassen

When southern Flevoland was pumped dry in 1968 a low-lying corner was left unbuilt because industry was planned for it later, and it filled with reed and water; geese arrived, then more, and by the 1980s the accident had become one of the most important wetlands in western Europe. Frans Vera's idea for it was radical: introduce large herbivores - Heck cattle, Konik horses, red deer - and let natural processes rather than management shape the vegetation, with no supplementary feeding and no culling, as a working model of a pre-human European landscape. The herds grew, and in hard winters large numbers starved, which produced sustained public anger, protests, gates broken open and hay thrown over fences, court cases and repeated policy reversals. Management now includes population control and winter feeding. The reserve remains important and the argument is genuinely unresolved.

Highlights

• A marsh made by accident - unbuilt polder that filled with reed and became a wetland.
• Large free-ranging herds - Heck cattle, Konik horses and red deer on open grassland.
• The rewilding argument - starvation, protest and policy reversal, still unsettled.
• Very large bird numbers - geese, spoonbills, egrets and white-tailed eagles.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Things to know

Most of the reserve is closed to entry - viewing is from marked routes, hides and the railway side, or on booked excursions. The animal welfare history is contested and visitors sometimes see dead stock. It is flat, open and windy.

Nearby

Lelystad and the Batavia shipyard are north; Almere is south.

Key facts