Information panel | Water Against the Enemy

On the orders of the German occupiers, the Beemster was flooded in 1944. This inundation lasted until the end of the war, May 1945. It took three days for the inundation to be completed. An area of ​​approximately 1900 hectares in the southern part of the Beemster was put under water. On the information panel you can see images of a flooded Beemsterpolder.

Renovation of the Lock
In 1959 the Ministry of War asked the water board whether it had an interest in the continued existence of the inundation sluice. After all, the lock no longer had any military significance. The Beemster Water Board wanted the lock to be removed in its entirety. Ultimately, the ministry decided not to demolish the lock, but to close it off with concrete and soil, among other things. The reason for this was that demolishing the lock was much more expensive. The lock was officially decommissioned in 1962.

On the side of the Noord-Hollandsch Kanaal, the double row of wooden bulkhead beams was replaced by reinforced concrete beams. Concrete was poured in between. On the inside, the wooden bulkhead beams were renewed and that space was filled with earth. The masonry was also repaired. The information panel shows the lock before the renovation.

By the end of the 20th century, the lock had fallen into serious disrepair. The dumping bed of the lock was used by the water board in the 1970s to store dredged material. in 2002 the idea was conceived to restore the lock. The renovation started in the autumn of 2005, financed by subsidies. On the information panel you can see the lock after the renovation.