Zeewolde () is a

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 ...

and a town in the

Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...

province in the central

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 ...

. It has a population of approximately 22,000 (2017). It is situated in the polder of Flevoland with the small lake called the

Wolderwijd The Wolderwijd is a bordering lake situated in the Netherlands, created in 1967 by the gaining of land in Southern Flevoland. It is one of four Veluwe bordering lakes. On the northern and western bank it is encompassed by the municipality of Zeew ...

to the east. To the south is a large deciduous forest called the . The area to the west is principally agricultural. Zeewolde is known for its landscape and nature art; the most well-known art work is ''Sea Level'' by

Richard Serra Richard Serra (born November 2, 1938) is an American artist known for his large-scale sculptures made for site-specific landscape, urban, and architectural settings. Serra's sculptures are notable for their material quality and exploration o ...

, located in the Landschapspark De Wetering. In the wood Hulkesteinse Bos there is the

naturist resort A naturist resort or nudist resort is an establishment that provides accommodation (or at least camping space) and other amenities for guests in a context where they are invited to practise naturism – that is, a lifestyle of non-sexual socia ...

, with

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

s, a

camp site A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

, and the possibility of day recreation.Flevo-Natuur
/ref>

History

The municipality of Zeewolde was founded in 1984 and is therefore one of the youngest in the Netherlands. Before 1984, the area was administrated by the '' (OLZIJ) ( en, Public Body of Southern IJsselmeer Polders), founded by the Dutch national government after the province of Flevoland was created. The name 'Zeewolde' was always meant to be used during the planning stages, but on various locations. Zeewolde's first inhabitants were the so-called 'pioneers', moving in from the 'old land' to the newly created

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

in 1979. They were mostly farmers and in the beginning stages deprived of amenities such as

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

tap water Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...

. The planned village was then mostly meant to provide services to the neighbouring farmers. Alongside the farmers, two

holiday resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resor ...

s were founded in the area. In August 1980, the Zeewolde advisory board, headed by Han Lammers who was at the time the head of the OLZIJ, met for the first time. In February 1982, municipal elections were held and the first ' (Structural plan) was drawn, envisaging the village to grow to 15.000 inhabitants. The actual village itself was started in 1983, after which in 1984 Zeewolde became a

in its own right. On 23 February 1984, the official first inhabitant of the village of Zeewolde was handed the keys of his house.

Transportation

There are no railway stations in the municipality, but the nearest stations are

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 southea ...

Nijkerk Nijkerk (; Dutch Low Saxon: ''Niekark'') is a municipality and a city located in the middle of the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_ ...

and the stations in

Almere Almere () is a Planned community, planned List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km ...

. There are busconnections to the stations in Harderwijk and Nijkerk, and to the central station in Almere.

Notable people

Tom Viezee Tom A. Viezee (born 1950) is a Dutch Christian minister and former politician. As a member of the Reformatory Political Federation Viezee was a councillor of Alphen aan den Rijn from 1990 to 1999. From 1993 to 1994 he also was an alderman and from ...

(born 1950) Christian minister and former politician, Mayor of Zeewolde 1999-2004 *

Geke Faber Geesje Hendrika (Geke) Faber (born 5 August 1952, 's-Graveland) is a Dutch politician who was mayor of Zaanstad from 2007 until 2016. Between 1990 and 1998 she was mayor of Zeewolde, she served as interim mayor in Wageningen between 2002 and 20 ...

(born 1952) politician, Mayor of Zeewolde 1990-1998 *

Tim Visser Tim Visser ( born 29 May 1987) is a Dutch rugby union player, who played as a winger for the Scotland national team and for English club Harlequins. Early life Visser was born in De Bilt, Netherlands. He was brought up in Maartensdijk and pla ...

(born 1987 in Zeewolde) rugby union player who plays for the Scotland national team *

Sabrina van der Donk Sabrina van der Donk (born 29 July 1988 in Zeewolde) is a Dutch model who participated in the Miss Earth 2006 beauty pageant in the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fi ...

(born 1988 in Zeewolde) model who participated in the

Miss Earth 2006 Miss Earth 2006, the 6th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, was held on November 26, 2006, at the grounds of the National Museum in Manila, Philippines. The pageant was won by Hil Hernández of Chile and crowned by outgoing titleholder, Miss Ea ...

Sep Visser Sep Visser (born in Zeewolde, 14 December 1990) is a Netherlands international rugby union player. He most recently played as a dual player for Boroughmuir RFC and Edinburgh Rugby, playing as a centre and a wing. Early career He joined the Newc ...

(born 1990 in Zeewolde) rugby union player with

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

Gallery

File:Overzicht toren van kerkencentrum Open Haven gezien vanaf plein - Zeewolde - 20410312 - RCE.jpg, Overzicht toren van kerkencentrum Open Haven gezien vanaf plein - Zeewolde File:Harderwold 2014.jpg, Harderwold File:Zeewolde-haven.jpg, Zeewolde-haven File:IMG 0612 - Flickr - Jan Joris Vereijken.jpg, Jan Joris Vereijken

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities of Flevoland Populated places in Flevoland