Dronten is a town and a municipality in the Dutch province of
Flevoland, in Eastern Flevoland. The municipality has 41,677
inhabitants (August 1, 2020, source: CBS) on an area of 334 km²;
the place has 28,795 inhabitants (January 1, 2020). The first
concrete plans for the village center of Dronten started in 1958.
The construction of the village started in 1960. From the beginning
there was a discussion whether Dronten should become a village or a
city. Initially a maximum of 15,000 inhabitants was assumed, later
plans foresaw a growth to 30,000 inhabitants.
The first plans
were based on ten cores, just like in the Noordoostpolder small
cores around a central main town. This number was reduced due to
changing views on transport (increasing use of moped and car) and
the experience that the centers in the Noordoostpolder had turned
out to be too small. In various steps of the planning phase, the
number of cores was ultimately reduced to three: Dronten,
Biddinghuizen and Swifterbant. At the start of construction in 1960,
the places Larsen and Zeewolde were still included in the planning.
These two places were ultimately not realized either. In 1965 it was
finally decided to build only three cores. The name Zeewolde was
later used for another place in Southern Flevoland.
On
January 1, 1972, the municipality of Dronten was officially given
its name. Until the province of Flevoland was established in 1986,
the Ministry of the Interior took over most of the provincial tasks;
some tasks were arranged by the municipality itself.
The plans for the municipality of Dronten were made
from the beginning of the 1950s. The first concrete plans started in
1958, construction started in 1960 and the first residents settled
there on April 26, 1962. From the start there was a discussion
whether Dronten should become a village or a city. Initially a
maximum of 15,000 inhabitants was assumed, later plans foresaw a
growth to 30,000 inhabitants.
The initial plans were based on
ten cores, just as in the Noordoostpolder: small cores around a
central capital. This number was reduced due to changing views on
transport (increasing use of moped and car) and the experience that
the centers in the Noordoostpolder had turned out to be too small.
In various steps of the planning phase, the number of cores was
ultimately reduced to three: Dronten, Biddinghuizen and Swifterbant.
At the start of construction in 1960, the places Larsen and Zeewolde
were still included in the planning. These two places were
ultimately not realized either. In 1965 it was finally decided to
build only three cores. The name Zeewolde was later used for another
place in Southern Flevoland. During the construction of Dronten,
several wrecks of aircraft from the Second World War were found; to
commemorate the victims, the Kite Monument was placed.
On
January 1, 1972, the municipality of Dronten was established by law.
Dronten takes its name from the Polder Dronthen, a polder created by
alluvial land near Kampen, on the border of the provinces of
Overijssel and Gelderland. Until the establishment of the province
of Flevoland in 1986, the Ministry of the Interior took over most of
the provincial tasks; some tasks were arranged by the municipality
itself.
The number of inhabitants is slightly above the limit
of 40,000 inhabitants, which was exceeded in 2010, after steady
growth in the period 2002-2012,
Around
the turn of the century, many iconic buildings in the center of
Dronten were demolished as part of a radical renovation of the
village center built in the 1960s. The building of De Dukdalf public
primary school (De Noord; architect Jochem Bredman), which was
completed in 1964, with a parish house and rectory (Werfstraat;
architect Johannes Sluijmer), the De Meerpaal community center
opened in 1967 ( De Rede; architect Frank van Klingeren), the stilt
houses built in 1968 (De Rede; architect Pietro P. Hammel) and the
public library dating from 1969 (Het Ruim; architect Joop van den
Berg). The former police station, the health center (1965), the
pharmacy and the post office (1970), all located at De Schans, were
also demolished.
In 2015-2016, however, a district with the
137 first-built houses in Dronten was restored according to the
construction drawing of 1959. Ten of these chalet houses on the
Lijzijde have been declared a municipal monument.
Lovink pumping station, the only national monument in Dronten