Westfriese_Omringdijk

Westfriese Omringdijk

Westfriese Omringdijk

Dyke protecting Westflinge

The Westfriese Omringdijk (West-Frisian Circular Dyke) is a dyke system that protected the region of Westflinge, part of the historical region of West-Frisia. Westflinge is now commonly referred to as West-Frisia as the rest of historical West-Frisia assimilated with The Netherlands.

Westfriese Omringdijk in 2020

The cultivation of peat bogs and moors as of 1000 BC led to subsidence, which necessitated the building of dykes. The Westfriese Omringdijk was formed by connecting a large number of smaller dykes. This was completed by 1250 AD, just in time for the area to be spared annihilation in the St. Lucia's flood of 1287. The total dyke length is about 126 km, protecting an area of about 800 km2. It connects the cities of Enkhuizen, Hoorn, Alkmaar, Schagen, Medemblik and then back to Enkhuizen.

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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Westfriese_Omringdijk, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.