Schokland, pronounced [ˈsxɔklɑnt] in Dutch, was once an island in the Dutch Zuiderzee, located within the Noordoostpolder municipality. It was a long, narrow area of peat land that stopped being an island when the Noordoostpolder was taken from the sea in 1942. Today, it is a slightly raised part of the polder, with a remaining section of the retaining wall from the waterfront of Middelbuurt. As of April 1, 2014, it had 8 residents, but Statistics Netherlands reports that five people currently live on the former island.
History
Schokland was a nice place to live during the Middle Ages when it was much bigger. By the 1800s, rising sea levels made it constantly at risk of flooding. At that time, the people of Schokland moved to the three highest areas: Emmeloord, Molenbuurt, and Middelbuurt. A major flood in 1825 caused a lot of damage, and in 1859, the government decided that people could no longer live there permanently. The old town of Schokland became part of Kampen on the mainland.
Today, Schokland is a well-known archaeological site and home to the Museum Schokland [nl]. It was the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Netherlands.
Public transportation
The closest train stations are in Kampen and Dronten.
Bus service 682 runs from Kampen and stops at Schokland.
- Church of Schokland at Middelbuurt
- A church located next to a sea wall
- A church
- A large rock with a label on the left stone that says "Stones from Norway" in Dutch
- Church ruins at Ens
- A view of Schokland from the north
- Schokland Museum [nl] contains