Every design for Heerhugowaard

In 1630 the lake known as the Grote Waert was pumped dry, and the polder of Heerhugowaard came into being as farmland divided among its investors. The soil disappointed so badly that within a few decades there was talk of flooding it again for fishing.

Walking the town today brings a quiet sense of standing on what was once open water. The land lies below sea level, flat in every direction, ruled into straight lines by the old reclamation. Long before that the whole area was peat fen, and peat cutting and storm floods carved the lakes that later generations would drain. The Huygendijk still marks the southern edge, dividing Heerhugowaard from the Schermer.

Alkmaar lies to the south-west, and the town, once its own municipality, is now the main centre of Dijk en Waard in the West Friesland region. Its green spaces are newer than its dykes: the Waarderhout, the Oosterdel nature reserve and the Carel Fabritiuspark. Look closely at the map and the polder grid is still there beneath the streets, the outline of a lake that became a town.