The Afsluitdijk

For more than 80 years the Afsluitdijk is protecting the Netherlands from the sea. The dike is 32 km long and was completed in 1932, shutting off the Zuiderzee from the North Sea.

Construction

The Afsluitdijk runs from Den Oever (province of Noord Holland) to Zurich (province of Friesland). Almost 90 years ago thousands of hands were building this dam, stone by stone. It is an impressive construction that is famous throughout the world.

Fish migration

A new and unique project is the new fish migration river. With the construction of a fish migration river through the Afsluitdijk, fish will now be able to again migrate from fresh water to seawater and vice versa. The river is ca. 3 km long on both sides and the expectation is that millions of fish like e.i. salmon and eal will use this river.

Aflsluitdijk Wadden Centre

You should certainly drive on the Afsluitdijk and also pay a visit to the Afsluitdijk Wadden Centre while you are here. This relatively new centre offers a total experience of the Wadden sea (UNESCO World Heritage), the fishmigration through the dyke, the IJsselmeer area and of course the Afsluitdijk self. IJsselmeer is the name of the sea that was called Zuiderzee before the dam was built. Visitors will get a good idea of the surroundings and insight in the different innovative projects that are being realized. A visit to Afsluitdijk Wadden Centre is interesting for both young and old!

What can Feel Dutch do for you?

If you are interested in watermanagement and how the Dutch are able to live together with water and sea then check out our page about water. Her you will get some inspiration on what is worth visiting.

Let us help you tailor-make your tour to the Netherlands and make a perfectly fitted program. Do you have special interests in a certain theme and want to learn more from the specialists? Or do you not know which museums are worth visiting? Or maybe you want to visit the places in the Netherlands whith a rich (war) history? Ask us about any theme or question you might have and we will help you further.