Weerribben-Wieden National Park (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Nationaal Park Weerribben-Wieden'') is a Dutch national park in the

Steenwijkerland Steenwijkerland (; nds-nl, Stienwiekerlaand or ''Steenwiekerlaand'') is a municipality in the province of Overijssel, in the eastern Netherlands. It was called Steenwijk before 2003. The municipality forms the entire northwesterly corner of the ...

and

Zwartewaterland Zwartewaterland () is a municipality in the province Overijssel in the eastern Netherlands. Geography This mainly rural municipality lies south of Steenwijkerland on the ''Zwarte Water'' (Black Water). This is a short tributary of the river IJ ...

municipalities 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 ...

in the

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

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

. Comprising the largest

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

of Northwestern Europe, the park consists of two areas, De Weerribben and De Wieden; it has an area of roughly . The park was founded in 1992, although De Wieden was added later, in 2009.

History and former use

Large parts of the area were used for peat production until the Second World War. Since then a part of the area has been used for thatching reed production.

Present management

The area is managed by the large private nature-conservation organisation

Natuurmonumenten Vereniging tot Behoud van Natuurmonumenten in Nederland ( en, Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands), also known as Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, is a Dutch nature conservation organization founded in 1905 by Jacobus Pi ...

and by the

Staatsbosbeheer Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves. Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public ...

(State Forest Service). Other parties are involved in management issues as well, such as local communities. About is still used for thatching reed production. Villages like the picturesque

Giethoorn Giethoorn () is a village in the province of Overijssel, Netherlands with a population of 2,795 in 2020. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland, about 5 km southwest of Steenwijk. As a popular Dutch tourist destination bot ...

and monumental towns like

Blokzijl Blokzijl is a small city located southwest of Steenwijk in the province of Overijssel, the Netherlands. The city is a major tourist destination near the De Weerribben-Wieden National Park and attracts many water sports enthusiasts. Blokzijl was ...

and

Vollenhove Vollenhove is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland, southwest of Steenwijk. Until the Noordoostpolder was drained, it was located on the coast of the Zuiderzee. Vollenhove received cit ...

are important for tourism and recreation.

Vegetation and wildlife

The vegetation and wildlife are typical for such an area, full of peat and water. Resident species include the

water soldier ''Stratiotes'' is a genus of submerged aquatic plant commonly known as water soldiers, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. Several specific names have been coined within the genus, but at present only one is recognized: ''Stratiotes aloid ...

, the

sundew ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous ...

, the

black tern The black tern (''Chlidonias niger'') is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe, Western Asia and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage. In some lights it can appear blue in the breeding se ...

, the

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

and, recently, the

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

. In addition, the Green Hawker and the

Large Copper The large copper (''Lycaena dispar'') is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. ''L. dispar'' has been commonly arranged into three subspecies: ''L. dispar dispar'', (single-brooded) which was commonly found in England, but is now extinct, ''L. d ...

are found here.

Visitor centres

* Visitor centre De Weerribben in

Ossenzijl Ossenzijl (Dutch Low Saxon: ''Ossenziel'') is a village in the municipality Steenwijkerland of the Dutch province of Overijssel. It started as a sluice owned by the Osse family. It is an entry point to the Weerribben-Wieden National Park. History ...

* Information centre of the national park in Kalenberg * Visitor centre De Wieden in Sint Jansklooster * Schoonewelle 'Centrum Natuur en Ambacht' in

Zwartsluis Zwartsluis is a small city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Zwartewaterland, at the mouth of the Zwarte Water river and the . History Zwartsluis's history started in the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648): ...

Pictures

Weerribben2.JPG, Weerribben-Wieden National Park 2014-05-03 weerribben zvd 05.JPG, Visitor Centre Ossenzijl from the riverside Weerribben 5.jpg, Weerribben Waterpump in the Weerribben 02.jpg, Waterpump in the Weerribben Canoeist in the Weerribben.jpg, Canoeist in the Weerribben

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Protected areas established in 1992 1992 establishments in the Netherlands National parks of the Netherlands Ramsar sites in the Netherlands Geography of Overijssel Tourist attractions in Overijssel Steenwijkerland