Zeewolde is one of the five municipalities of the Dutch province
of Flevoland that was drained in the 20th century. The village of
Zeewolde is located on the Wolderwijd, opposite Harderwijk. The
hamlet of Harderhaven is located in the easternmost point of the
municipality. These are just a few houses. This is the oldest part
of Zeewolde. Neighboring municipalities of Zeewolde are Almere,
Lelystad and Dronten. Harderwijk, Ermelo and Putten are on the other
side of the Wolderwijd. On the other side of the Eemmeer are Baarn,
Bunschoten / Spakenburg and Nijkerk.
In the early planning of
the Flevopolder, Zeewolde would be located in Eastern Flevoland,
halfway between Biddinghuizen and Lelystad. Although the name
Zeewolde can be traced back to history, it is not clear where the
name comes from. The name does contain 2 words: Sea and Wold (sea /
blue / water / green / forests / nature). The colors come back
together with the color yellow (grain) in the flag of Zeewolde.
The municipality of Zeewolde is located in the southern part of the province of Flevoland. The core of Zeewolde is located on the Wolderwijd, to which it has given its name (at the suggestion of Godfried Bomans), opposite Harderwijk. At the most northeastern point of the municipality is the hamlet of Harderhaven, the oldest part of Zeewolde. Neighboring municipalities of Zeewolde are Almere, Lelystad and Dronten. Neighboring municipalities on the old land, on the other side of the Wolderwijd, are Harderwijk, Ermelo and Putten. On the other side of the Eemmeer are the municipalities of Eemnes, Bunschoten and Nijkerk.
On the southwest side of Zeewolde lies the Horsterwold, a young forest of approximately 3700 hectares. It borders the Nuldernauw. This forest is not only one of the largest contiguous deciduous forests in the Netherlands, 'it is also special because this is a forest on clay soil. The growth of trees is spectacular because acid rain has no effect on this environment and because the soil is very fertile.'
On the northeast side of Zeewolde is the Harderbroek nature reserve, a marsh and lake area of 272 hectares, which was created in 1974 in the municipality of Zeewolde and is managed by the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten. It is located opposite Harderwijk, sandwiched between the Knardijk and the Ganzenweg, and borders the Randmeer Wolderwijd. The Harderbos stretches out on the other side of the Ganzenweg. Together with the grassland area Kievitslanden, these three sub-areas form the large young nature reserve Harderhoek.
This residential area was in use much earlier,
centuries before it was drained. People lived in the whole of
Flevoland more than a thousand years ago, of whom objects have also
been found. Some names of villages and cities are also from this
time. Liudger (742-809) planned to found a monastery, and in 793
acquired an inheritance from Liudger, son of Hredger "in a forest
called Seaeuuwald or Suifterbant, except for the fields cultivated
there by my parents and own people." This was the first property of
the Werden monastery, the construction of which was completed in
801. Ancient sources indicate that there was a village called
Seaewald in the year 790. At that time, the Duke of Gelre gave
privileges to the residents of the village, west of Harderwijk. Due
to floods in the later Middle Ages, this village was swallowed up by
the Zuiderzee. A modern interpretation distinguishes in the village
name the two words sea and wool (sea / blue / water and green /
forests / nature). The colors come back together with the color
yellow (grain) in the flag of Zeewolde.
The original village
of Seaewald was located in the area's peat bogs. Various sources
show that witchcraft had a major influence in Seaewald society.
The polder has existed since 1968, the year in
which Southern Flevoland was reclaimed. Initially, the new village
of Zeewolde was planned between Dronten and Lelystad. Later it was
decided to build the village on the location it is now. At the end
of the 1970s, the first farmers and entrepreneurs settled in the
polder, and a multifunctional building was built: De Trekker. That
part of Zeewolde has been renamed 'Bedrijventerrein Trekkersveld'.
In 1981 the first primary school, called 't Wold, started on the
Dasselaarweg, between the reeds and opposite a forest, next to the
town hall, the library and the police station. There was a way to
the harbor. There was no question of a village yet. The first
activities, such as spraying sand, did start.
The first
buildings and houses in the village of Zeewolde started in 1983 and
the first Zeewolde residents settled in 1984. Zeewolde originated
from a part of Lelystad and the OL ZIJP. The municipality of
Zeewolde was established by law on January 1, 1984.
The
municipality of Zeewolde originally aimed to keep the village small
and determined a certain number of inhabitants, whereby the
municipality would stop housing. Although this number (5,000) has
already increased considerably, Zeewolde has managed to retain a
spacious layout and the village character. This is particularly
reflected in the youngest district, the Polderwijk. This district is
also spacious, with an eye for nature. An additional effect of the
increased population is that several larger retail chains are
located in Zeewolde. Yet Zeewolde is one of the least densely
populated municipalities in the Netherlands.
The first inhabitants of the municipality were mainly livestock
farmers and arable farmers. Due to the strong population growth of
Zeewolde afterwards, farmers have become an increasingly smaller group
in relative terms. In an economic sense, there is a similar trend.
Initially, mainly agricultural and related companies predominated. The
non-agricultural small and medium-sized enterprises now form the largest
group. Various branches of companies are active on the Trekkersveld,
Schepenveld, Gildenveld, Krachtenveld, Planetenveld and Horsterparc
(formerly Paardenveld) business parks. Transport and logistics take up a
lot of the area of Trekkersveld (the oldest industrial estate, since the
1970s), but numerically they do not predominate. The mechanization
companies and (agricultural) trading companies remain the main part in
that respect. Trekkersveld also has a number of manufacturers, of which
the Pottertjes and Gouda's Glorie are well-known brand names. There is
more diversity in the other industrial areas. Where the extensive
companies are located on Trekkersveld, the office companies are located
on the other business parks, including a number of (inter)nationally
well-known names in the service sector.
Demographics
On 1
January 2017, the municipality of Zeewolde had 22,457 inhabitants,
11,549 men and 10,908 women. In 1995, the municipality of Zeewolde still
had 12,923 inhabitants.
In 1988 Zeewolde had the highest birth
rate in the Netherlands, about 31.3 births per thousand inhabitants. The
fertility rate in that year was 2.57 children per woman. The year 2016
had about 9.7 births per thousand inhabitants. During the same period,
the fertility rate was 1.74 children per woman. The birth rate has
fallen sharply in recent years. It is now below the national average.
At € 25,700, the average income in Zeewolde is the highest of all
municipalities in Flevoland. The average WOZ value is also higher at €
240,000 than in the other Flevoland municipalities.
Chahid Charrak (1990), entrepreneur and influencer
Sep Visser
(1990), rugby player
Sanne van Gool (1992), baseball player
Shanel
Smith (1999), soccer player
Kirsten van de Westeringh (2001), soccer
player
In Zeewolde, the transmitter mast of the Midwave transmitter
Flevoland for the AM modulated medium wave frequency 1008 kHz was
located. On January 9, 2019, these transmission towers were downed.
The Open Haventoren has a carillon with fifty bells. It is played by
Boudewijn Zwart.
In the Wolderwijd near Zeewolde lies the Tulpeiland,
an artificial island in the shape of a tulip, which can be clearly seen
from the air.
Zeewolde houses a commercial naturist site with accompanying camping site Flevo-Natuur. As a nudist beach there is the Laakse Strand. Between Flevo-Natuur and the Laakse beach nudists can be observed regularly in the Hulkesteinse Bos.