Wieringerwerf is a village in the municipality of Wieringermeer in the north-western part of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. With 6,368 inhabitants (in 2003) Wieringerwerf is the largest town of the municipality. It is situated in a polder. The altitude of the village is 4 metres below sea level. The dikes and pumping engines will keep the land dry.

History

In 1936 the construction of the village began, a few years after the reclamation of the polder. Because of an employment project that was subsidised by the state, inhabitants from all over the country came to the Wieringermeer to help build an infrastructure. In only short time houses, shops, churches and schools rose in Wieringerwerf. Near the town a "terp " was built, an artificial hill that could serve as a refuge in case of an eventual bursting of the IJsselmeer dike. On July 1 1941 Wieringermeer became an independent municipality. On September 29 of the same year, the first inhabitants of the new land gave a memorial to the new mayor and aldermen. This statue, entitled De Maaier (The Mower), can be found on a square in the town centre. The inscription says: "Here a future was built, keep building."

On April 17 1945 the Germans bombed the dike and within two days the complete polder was all water again (see also inundation of the Wieringermeer). Most inhabitants fled to the old land, but a few found their refuge on the terp hill. On December 11 1945 the polder was reclaimed again, so the building of Wieringerwerf could start for a second time. Nowadays, a monument and a deep pool still mark the location of the bursting.

In the decades after the reconstruction Wieringerwerf always had a growing population. Several quarters were built around the town centre. The town is still growing, so the inscription of the statue De Mower still finds a response.

• Wieringermeer and the bursting of the dike (NL)