Middelbuurt Schokland

These days the church stands serene on dry land as though things had never been otherwise, but in centuries gone by it was never a matter of course. In olden times Schokland was an island steadily being eaten away by the choppy waters of the Zuiderzee. Its inhabitants clustered together on man-made raised mounds, or terpen, of which Middelbuurt was the biggest. It was here that the mayor lived, and the doctor and the vicar, right next to the church. As time went by it was no longer safe, even here. Schokland was evacuated and the elements gained free rein. Until it started its second life as an island on dry land, situated in the middle of the vast expanse of the North East Polder. The restored sea dyke reveals how frighteningly close the waters used to come. But now the water levels are under man’s control. The sight of a few waterlogged meadows no longer engenders fear.