Blokzijl is a small city located southwest of

Steenwijk Steenwijk (; Low German: ''Steenwiek'', ''Stienwiek'' English: ''Stenwick'') is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland. It is the largest town of the municipality. Steenwijk received c ...

in the province of Overijssel, 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 ...

. The city is a major tourist destination near the De Weerribben-Wieden National Park and attracts many water sports enthusiasts. Blokzijl was founded in the 1580s as a trading post for

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 efficien ...

. After the

Siege of Steenwijk (1580–81) Siege of Steenwijk may refer to: * Siege of Steenwijk (1580–81) * Siege of Steenwijk (1592) {{disambiguation ...

in the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Re ...

, the Dutch built a fortified lock or in local dialect ''zijl'' or ''siel''. The monumental houses around the picturesque harbour were built during 17th century. Blokzijl received city rights in 1672, but was stripped of them a few years later. Until 1973, it was a separate municipality, when it became a component of the new municipality

Brederwiede Brederwiede is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It was created in a merger of Blokzijl, Giethoorn, Vollenhove, and Wanneperveen in 1973, and existed until it became a part of Steenwijk in 2001 (since 2003: Steenwijkerl ...

; it is now part of

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 ...

. One the interesting sights of the city is an old

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...

, located on the harbour quay. This cannon was not used for defense purposes, but as a warning device during storm and high tide. Flooding was a real danger before the

Noordoostpolder Noordoostpolder (; en, "North-East Polder") is a polder and municipality in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Formerly, it was also called '' Urker Land''. Emmeloord is the administrative center, located in the heart of the Noord ...

and the Afsluitdijk were constructed in the 1930-40's. One residential building shows the height the water reached during a flood in 1825. In 1926, a fire destroyed part of the centre and damaged the church.

Gallery

Image:Blokzijl.JPG, Blokzijl harbour File:Blokzijl (11052599976).jpg, Street of Blokzijl File:Blokzijlpark.jpg, Blokzijl Park File:Wijk III, verbrande huizen - Blokzijl - 20036454 - RCE.jpg, 1926 fire

References

Cities in the Netherlands Former municipalities of Overijssel Populated places in Overijssel Steenwijkerland {{Overijssel-geo-stub