Kornwerderzand ( West Frisian: Koarnwertersân) is a village on the

Afsluitdijk The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...

, a major dam in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

that links

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

with

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

Overview

Kornwerderzand is located approximately 4 kilometers from the coast of

, on a former

artificial island An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those tha ...

which was created during the construction of the dam. The settlement has a population of 50 (as of 2021). It is part of the municipality of

Súdwest-Fryslân Southwest Friesland ( fy, Súdwest-Fryslân ) is a municipality in the Northern Netherlands, located in the province of Friesland. It had a population of 84,092 in August 2017. Sneek is the municipal seat. With a total area of 841.56 km2, Sú ...

. The shipping locks at Kornwerderzand, also known as the ' ("Lorentz Locks"), provide access to the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

from the

IJsselmeer The IJsselmeer (; fy, Iselmar, nds-nl, Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed off inland bay in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with an a ...

, and a complex of discharge sluices control the water level in the IJsselmeer. A second complex of sluices and locks is located at the other side of the Afsluitdijk, near

Den Oever Den Oever (; in English, the ''shore, the coast'') is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Hollands Kroon, and lies about east of Den Helder. Overview The village was first mentioned in 1432 as " ...

History

Fortifications and military history

The Afsluitdijk provides a road link between the provinces of

and

. Since

was part of Vesting Holland ("Fortress Holland"), the national redoubt of the Netherlands at the time, and control of the sluices in the Afsluitdijk was necessary for planned defensive inundations in case of a military invasion, Kornwerderzand was considered strategically important by the Dutch government. From 1931 onwards, fortifications consisting of seventeen

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

s and three

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. ...

s were constructed. The position was manned with approximately 220 troops in 1939. During the

German invasion of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands ( nl, Duitse aanval op Nederland), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands ( nl, Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign part of Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb), the Nazi German invasion of t ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Kornwerderzand position was defended by Dutch troops. On May 13 and May 14, 1940, the fortifications were attacked by the German first Cavalry Division, while the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

attacked supporting Dutch naval units. The German troops, initially lacking support by heavy

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

, were unable to take the position. The fortifications also withstood attacks by

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s. The next day the Dutch military in the Netherlands (except for the province of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

) surrendered, and the battle ended with the surrender of the position. In 1943, the occupying German military improved the defenses by building three additional bunkers. Nowadays, some of the fortifications can be visited as part of the Kazemattenmuseum ("casemate museum"). Before 2011, the village was part of the

Wûnseradiel Wûnseradiel () is a former municipality in the Friesland province of the northern Netherlands, at the eastern end of the ''Afsluitdijk''. The official (legal) name of the municipality is in the West Frisian language, though it is known as Wonsera ...

municipality.

References

External links

Kazemattenmuseum
- The museum located in the fortifications (in Dutch) {{Authority control Súdwest-Fryslân Populated places in Friesland Zuiderzee Works

Overview

History

Fortifications and military history

See also

References

External links