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Kreileroord, Netherlands, Europe |
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Housing in the centre of
the village, with
attached shops and
postoffice, 1960s
source: www.wieringermeer.net/kre
ileroord.html
The community centre in
the 1960s
source: www.wieringermeer.net/kre
ileroord.html
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Kreileroord is located in the Wieringermeer, a polder that was reclaimed in 1927-1930 as part of the Zuiderzee works according to the Zuiderzee Act of 1918. These works include the Afsluitdijk, designed by the famous politician and engineer Cornelis Lely (1854-1929).
The reclamation of the polder was done in a great hurry because of the fear of food shortage. Therefore, they did not even wait for the completion of the Afsluitdijk (1932) which made the work more difficult.
The planning of the polder was done by the government. Every new farmer was given 20 hectares of farming land in a lease system. Four nuclei were built, situated at intersections of roads and canals. First Slootdorp (1931), then Middenmeer (1932) and in 1935 the central core, Wieringerwerf. The final and smallest nucleus, Kreileroord, followed in 1956.
The settlements are very close together, within walking distance (max 5 km). Each village housed three churches for the various religious denominations and the corresponding three or four schools, as well as a small industrial area for agricultural industry.
The construction of the Wieringermeer was not undertaken as a purely technical project. In 1927 the renowned, traditional architect Granpré Molière was appointed as aesthetic consultant with the task of designing the settlements within the subdivision already made by the government department, while well-known landscape architects were also hired for the design of the roads, and the yard planting of the farms. The Wieringermeer was seen as an example for the later IJsselmeer polders.
Kreileroord was designed by J. Wieger Bruin and its construction started in 1957. It was meant to house land workers that were needed to facilitate the development of agriculture during the post-war period and to provide amenities for the farmers in these outskirts of the polder. However, due to the increasing mechanisation and industrialisation of agricultural production, the number of new inhabitants quite soon started to stagnate and even decline. Consequently, the village remained relatively small in size and numbers.
Kreileroord is characterised by parallel positioned low-rise terraced-style housing. The single family houses are positioned along north-south streets. The centre, along the main road, consists of a village green and a row of houses doubling as shops, including a postoffice. The large community centre(‘dorpshuis’) also is part of the central are; it underwent renovation in the 1980s in order to be able to house more activities and community groups, but torn down ca. 2004. Among the added facilities were two schools, a sports hall and an ice skating rink. Later, the village also housed a branch of the Rabobank and an Esso gas station for a while.
source: INTI |
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