municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Cornelis Lely Cornelis Lely (; 23 September 1854 – 22 January 1929) was a Dutch politician of the Liberal Union (LU) and civil engineer. He oversaw the passage of an act of parliament authorising construction of the Zuiderzee Works, a huge project – desi ...

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 ...

below sea level This is a list of places on land below mean sea level. Places artificially created such as tunnels, mines, basements, and dug holes, or places under water, or existing temporarily as a result of ebbing of sea tide etc., are not included. Places ...

Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere comprise ...

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is on ...

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...

Swifterbant Swifterbant () is a town in the Dutch province of Flevoland. It is a part of the municipality of Dronten, and lies about 13 km northeast of Lelystad. On 1 January 2014, Swifterbant had 6475 inhabitants.human skeletons in Western Europe were discovered. Due to rising water levels and storms, the

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

lands were washed away, and the

Lacus Flevo Lake Flevo was a lake in what is now the Netherlands, which existed in Roman times and the early Middle Ages. Some geographers believe that this lake was not really a single lake, rather a set of several lakes connected to each other. From the ...

(in Roman times) grew to be the

Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere comprise ...

(Middle Ages) and became the

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...

. The Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) was the main transport route from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

and the Hanseatic League cities. Due to the many shipwrecks in Flevoland, Lelystad now houses the National Centre for Maritime

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, with a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

and the shipyard that has built the

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

replica.

After the Second World War the

Zuiderzee Works The Zuiderzee Works ( nl, Zuiderzeewerken) is a man-made system of dams and dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, in total the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The proj ...

continued, constructing the polder of Eastern Flevoland. In 1950 work commenced on several construction islands in the middle of the IJsselmeer. ''Lelystad-Haven'' was the largest island, and its wooden barracks housed a community of dyke-builders. In 1955 they reached the mainland, which made it possible to drive to Lelystad by car. One of the three

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure system ...

s, which drained the polder in June 1957, was the diesel-powered ''Wortman'' in Lelystad-Haven. Until 1967 the only inhabitants of Lelystad were technical

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

s and

laborer A laborer (or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor types in the construction industry workforce. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which their only possession of significant material value is their labor. Industries e ...

s and superintendents, living on the former construction island.

Demographics

Ethnic composition

*66% is Dutch *11% western migration background *33% not western migration background

Climate

Landscape

Lelystad is the largest municipality in the Netherlands in area, but a large part of that area is water:

Markermeer The Markermeer () is a lake in the central Netherlands in between North Holland, Flevoland, and its smaller and larger neighbors, the IJmeer and IJsselmeer. A shallow lake at 3 to 5 m in depth, matching the reclaimed land to its west, ...

and IJsselmeer. Another major area is the internationally famous nature park of Oostvaardersplassen, which arose naturally when the polder of ''South Flevoland'' was drained. Lelystad is also surrounded by a square of woodlands and parks and flat farmland. The importance of the landscape and sky is emphasized by several pieces of land art: engineers' work and works such as the ''Observatorium'' by Robert Morris (see below). The artificial islands of

Marker Wadden The Marker Wadden is an artificial archipelago under development in the Markermeer, a lake in the Netherlands. The first island was inaugurated on 24 September 2016. Project The project was proposed in 2012 by the Vereniging Natuurmonumente ...

lie immediately to the northwest of Lelystad. Construction started in 2016, and the first islands have already become important wildlife sites, with many species of birds coming to the islands during the breeding season.

Tourism

Lelystad has several tourist attractions, including: * The replica of the 17th-century ship ''

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

'' at the Batavia Shipyard *

Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet is a factory outlet center located in Lelystad, Netherlands. It was the first fashion outlet center in the Netherlands. The outlet is named after the ship Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Bat ...

* Hanzestad Compagnie, a fleet of historical sailing ships * Lelystad Nature Park * National Aviation Theme Park Aviodrome * Modern architecture, for example the Zilverparkkade and Agora Theatre Lelystad hosts many one-day events like the Lelystad Airshow, the Water Festival, the National Old Timer Day, Lelystad Speedway, Architecture day and several sports events. On the Midland Circuit many

motor An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power g ...

,

kart Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ...

and stock car racing events and several autoclub meetings are held. On the coast there are several marinas.

Transport

Lelystad can be reached by air, water, and land.

Air

Lelystad Airport Lelystad Airport is an airport south southeast of the city of Lelystad in Flevoland, Netherlands. It is the biggest general aviation airport in the Netherlands. The first flights were in 1971 and it became an official airport in 1973. Schipho ...

is the biggest

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airport in the Netherlands. It is owned wholly by

Schiphol Group Royal Schiphol Group is a Dutch airport management company. It was established during 1916 in conjunction with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, having been responsible for operating and developing throughout its operational life. During October 2008, ...

. Lelystad Airport has undergone major expansion, including the construction of a passenger terminal for commercial flights, as well as an extension of the runway. The original plan for this airport was to become the main gateway for passengers into the country, to eleviate some of the pressure from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. In turn, Schiphol would be able to focus on its role as international hub for lay-overs. Although the expansion of Lelystad Airport has been finished, the airport has not yet opened for passengers due to various political reasons. As of 2022, the government has decided to delay the opening of the terminals with at least two years, and even then the opening will not be guaranteed.

Water

Lelystad has a small inland

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, several marinas, and a canal system which also functions to aid in managing the water levels in the rest of the polder. The canal system connects to the

Markermeer The Markermeer () is a lake in the central Netherlands in between North Holland, Flevoland, and its smaller and larger neighbors, the IJmeer and IJsselmeer. A shallow lake at 3 to 5 m in depth, matching the reclaimed land to its west, ...

with a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

to the southwest of Lelystad, and connects the city and its industrial areas to all other towns and their respective industrial areas in the polder.

Rail

the

Weesp–Lelystad railway The Weesp–Lelystad railway, also known as Flevolijn, is a railway in the Netherlands operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen and owned by ProRail. The line runs from Weesp, North Holland to Lelystad, capital of the neighbouring province of Flevola ...

(''Flevolijn'') extends south from Lelystad Centrum railway station and connects the city with

Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere comprise ...

, and to the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many tow ...

region beyond. The

Lelystad–Zwolle railway The Lelystad–Zwolle railway, also known as the Hanzelijn ( en, Hanseatic Line), is a Dutch railway line, finished in 2012. It connects Lelystad, capital of the province of Flevoland, with Zwolle, capital of the neighbouring province of Overij ...

(''Hanzelijn'') extends north from Lelystad and connects it with

Dronten Dronten () is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Flevoland. It had a population of in . History Plans for the municipality of Dronten were made in the early half of the 1950s; real plans for the town of Dr ...

, Kampen and

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is on ...

.

Motorway

The A6 motorway runs along Lelystad on the eastern side of the city. There are two on-ramps connecting this motorway to Lelystad, each allowing traffic to travel northbound to

Emmeloord Emmeloord is the administrative centre of the municipality of Noordoostpolder, Flevoland, Netherlands. In 2019, it had a population of 26,055. Overview At the heart of the Noordoostpolder, where the three main drainage canals Lemstervaart, ...

and the province of

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 ...

, or southbound to

Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere comprise ...

and the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many tow ...

region.

Provincial roads

The N302 provincial road runs through Lelystad, this road connects Lelystad to the south-east with

Harderwijk Harderwijk (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city of the Netherlands. It is served by the Harderwijk railway station. Its population centres are Harderwijk and Hierden. Harderwijk is on the western boundary of the Veluwe. The south ...

and the province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

beyond, and across the

Houtribdijk The Houtribdijk is a dam in the Netherlands, built between 1963 and 1975 as part of the Zuiderzee Works, which connects the cities of Lelystad and Enkhuizen. On the west side of the dike is the Markermeer and on the east is the IJsselmeer. The ...

to

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbor-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade w ...

and the province of North Holland beyond. The N307 and N309 extend to the east from Lelystad, both connecting to

Dronten Dronten () is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Flevoland. It had a population of in . History Plans for the municipality of Dronten were made in the early half of the 1950s; real plans for the town of Dr ...

and beyond that to Kampen in the province of Overijssel and

Elburg Elburg () is a municipality and a city in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. History There is evidence of a Neolithic settlement at Elburg consisting of stone tools and pottery shards. From Roman times there are names and shards of earthenw ...

in the province of

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

respectively.

Shield and flag

The honeycomb grid in the arms of Lelystad represents the dykes, built with six-edged concrete or basalt blocks. The colour gold indicates the high costs of the project of making the polder. The centre shield is the arms of

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

Cornelis Lely Cornelis Lely (; 23 September 1854 – 22 January 1929) was a Dutch politician of the Liberal Union (LU) and civil engineer. He oversaw the passage of an act of parliament authorising construction of the Zuiderzee Works, a huge project – desi ...

. The sealions reflect the history of the land. In the flag, the

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

(

lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

) again takes a central point, referring to the name Lely. The yellow background reflects the precious land, and the blue lines the dykes and waterways. The flag of the province is similarly adorned with the fleur-de-lis to commemorate Lely.

Notable residents

*

Abraham Bueno de Mesquita Abraham "Appie" Bueno de Mesquita (July 23, 1918 in Amsterdam – August 19, 2005 in Lelystad) was a Dutch comedian, actor and stage artist, well known for his ability to make funny faces. In World War II, Bueno de Mesquita was imprisoned in ...

(1918–2005) comedian and actor * Nancy van Overveldt (1930-2015), artist *

Hans Gruijters Johannes Petrus Adrianus "Hans" Gruijters (; 30 June 1931 – 17 April 2005) was a Dutch politician and co-founder of the Democrats 66 (D66) party and journalist. Biography Hans Gruijters studied psychology and political and social sciences a ...

(1931–2005) politician and journalist * Hubert Fermina (1948-2022) nurse and politician *

Michiel van Hulten Michiel Frans van Hulten (born 18 February 1969) is Director of Transparency International EU and a former Dutch politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (1999–2004) and was chairman of the Labour Party ( nl, Partij van de Arb ...

(born 1969) former politician and MEP (1999–2004) *

Edsilia Rombley Edsilia Francisca Rombley (born 13 February 1978) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. She began her career in 1995, as a member of the Dutch girl group Dignity. Rombley began her solo career in 1996, after winning the Dutch talent show ''S ...

, (born 1978) singer *

Rianne ten Haken Rianne ten Haken (born 27 November 1986) is a Dutch model. She was born to a Dutch Father and a Belgian mother in Lelystad, Flevoland, and began modeling after she won the 2001 Elite Model Look competition at the age of 15. In 2003, Rianne wa ...

(born 1986) a Dutch model IMDb Database
retrieved 8 June 2019

Sport

*

Co Stompé Jacobus Wilhelmus "Co" Stompé (born 10 September 1962) is a Dutch former professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance, making him look like a matchstick. He was also one of ...

, (born 1962) retired professional darts player * Aron Winter, (born 1967) retired footballer and football manager * Ivan Sokolov, (born 1968) Bosnian chess grand-master *

Chiel Warners Chiel Mathijs Warners (born 2 April 1978 in Harderwijk, Gelderland) is a former Dutch decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the w ...

, (born 1978) former decathlete *

Charles Zwolsman Jr. __NOTOC__ Charles Zwolsman Jr. (born June 15, 1979, in Lelystad, Netherlands) is a race car driver who formerly competed in the Champ Car World Series. He is the son of former sports car racing driver Charles Zwolsman Sr., who competed in th ...

(born 1979) racing car driver * Karin Ruckstuhl, (born 1980) former heptathlete *

Guido van der Valk Guido van der Valk (born 26 January 1980) is a Dutch professional golfer. Career After a successful amateur career, which included representing his country at the Eisenhower Trophy, van der Valk turned down several college offers to turn profess ...

(born 1980) professional golfer *

Ruben Schaken Ruben Schaken (; born 3 April 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger. He has represented the Netherlands national team on seven occasions between 2012 and 2013, scoring two goals in the process. Career Ear ...

, (born 1982) football player *

Niels de Ruiter Niels de Ruiter (born January 21, 1983 in Lelystad, Flevoland) is a former Dutch darts player and former chairman of the Dutch Darts Federation. Career On the darts circuit his nickname is The Excellent Dude, which is a reference from the ...

(born 1983) former Dutch darts player, current director of the Dutch Darts Federation * Thijs van Valkengoed (born 1983), breaststroke swimmer, competed at the 2004 and the 2008 Summer Olympics *

Boy Waterman Boy Waterman (born 24 January 1984) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for PSV Eindhoven. He was part of the Netherlands under-21 national team which won the 2007 Under-21 European Football Championship. Club career ...

, (born 1984) football goalkeeper *

Daan Brandenburg Daan Brandenburg (born November 14, 1987) is a Dutch chess grandmaster. Chess career Born in 1987, Brandenburg became an International Master in 2007 and earned the Grandmaster title in 2011. He is the No. 28 ranked Dutch player as of June 2018 ...

(born 1987), chess grandmaster * Nathaniël Will (born 1989), footballer *

Alex Vlaar Alex Christiaan Vlaar ( bg, Алекс Флаар; born 31 July 1996) is a Dutch-Bulgarian badminton player. He was born in Lelystad, the Netherlands. His father Chris Vlaar is a Dutch rally car driver and badminton coach, his mother is former ba ...

(born 1996), a Bulgarian badminton player *

Devyne Rensch Devyne Fabian Jairo Rensch (born 18 January 2003) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a right back for Eredivisie club Ajax and the Netherlands national team. Club career Ajax Rensch played in the youth academies of VV Unicum and Aj ...

(born 2003) football player for

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

and the

Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( nl, Nederlands voetbalelftal or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal ...

Twin city

Lelystad maintains

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

with the Suriname twin city of

Lelydorp Lelydorp is the capital city of Wanica District, located in Suriname. With a population of 18,663 (2012), it is the second largest city in Suriname, after Paramaribo. History Pad van Wanica For centuries the Pad van Wanica (path of Wanica) has ...

.

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of Flevoland Populated places in Flevoland Populated places established in 1967 Provincial capitals of the Netherlands 1967 establishments in the Netherlands