Old Harbor of Schokland

Schokland was once an island in the Zuiderzee and symbolizes the history and culture of the Netherlands and the battle against the sea. In 1859 the last villages were evacuated and the island was left at the mercy of the elements, after the sea level got higher and Schokland got smaller and smaller. The island was in the Zuiderzee until 1932 and then in the IJsselmeer. A harbor was built in the north of the island in the 19th century and there was a fish auction between 1915 and 1932. After the reclamation of the Noordoostpolder, the port lost its function and was largely demolished.

Today, Schokland is a museum and the harbor piers have been reconstructed. In 1995 the island was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The old harbor on the northern part of Schokland

Schokland has a turbulent history. An island that had to be evacuated due to repeated flooding. The residents of the island of Schokland - the Schokkers - left for other fishing villages on the Zuiderzee, such as Marken, Volendam, Spakenburg and Kampen, and rebuilt their house there. Eva Vriend's latest book: Anna's Island is about that history. The book was - partly - written in the house at the old harbor of Schokland, as shown in photos 1 and 3.