Urk

Urk was an island in the Zuiderzee for its whole recorded history, a few kilometres of boulder clay with a fishing community on it, and in 1939 the Noordoostpolder dyke reached it and the sea around was pumped dry - so a fishing island became a hill in a field, with the old harbour on one side and reclaimed farmland on the other three. The community did not assimilate: Urk keeps its own dialect, an intensely Reformed church culture with high attendance and strict Sunday observance, its own surnames, and a fleet that is now the largest in the Netherlands, working from IJmuiden and Northern European ports since the local water went. The old village on the mound has narrow lanes and small houses, the lighthouse and the fishermen's monument on the dyke, with the names of the men lost at sea, and a woman looking out to a sea that is no longer there.

History

The oldest record of the name is a deed of 966 by Emperor Otto I mentioning "a certain island in the middle of Almere, which is called Urch". From 1660 to 1792 Urk belonged to Amsterdam, and in October 1939 a dike from Lemmer ended its life as an island, as the Noordoostpolder was reclaimed around it (Wikipedia, Urk).

What to look for

• An island in a field - the mound left when the sea around it was pumped dry in 1939.
• The largest Dutch fleet - working from other ports since the local water went.
• A distinct community - its own dialect, surnames and strict Sunday observance.
• The fishermen's monument - the names of the lost, and a woman watching a vanished sea.

When to go

April to October. A day.

Before you go

Sunday is observed strictly and almost everything closes, including some roads to the church. The community is conservative and photography of people needs care. The harbour is working, not scenic.

Nearby

Schokland, the other drowned island, is east; Lelystad is south.

Key facts