Doorkijkpaneel 8. Knarhaven

LONG RING DIJK
The ring dike of Eastern Flevoland is approximately 90 kilometers long. The ring dike was constructed in separate sections, called dike sections or parcels. Each lot was about seven kilometers long. The plots were built towards each other, so that the dike finally closed completely. The last hole was closed on September 13, 1956, after some 75 million cubic meters of soil had been processed in the long ring dike.

WORKING ISLAND LELYSTAD
One of the dike sections is plot P, which was located where the municipality of Lelystad is now located. At the time, this dike section was in the middle of the IJsselmeer. A camp with wooden barracks was built on the dike section for the housing of engineers and workers of the Service of the Zuiderzee Works. Many workmen took their wives and children with them. Later a second camp of stone buildings was erected. There was also a central kitchen and an infirmary. The camp was later known as Werkeiland Lelystad and is now part of the Lelystad-Haven district. 

WORKPORT
Work was being done on plot S between plot P and Harderwijk. Part of plot S was a small working harbour, the Knarhaven, large enough for a few cargo ships to load and unload. You are now looking towards that harbour. The harbor was built in early 1953 for the supply of dike material, such as stones and brushwood. The braided zinc pieces were made from this brushwood, usually willow wood, which was supposed to protect the dike against currents and erosion. The working harbor was also used to supply plot P. It was a temporary harbour.

NOT COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED
It was the intention that the Knarhaven would be completely dismantled after completion of the ring dike of Eastern Flevoland. The working harbor was filled with sand. However, the National Office for the IJsselmeer Polders, which was responsible for the layout of the IJsselmeer Polders, wanted to preserve the port for posterity. After all, the remains of the harbor tell a piece of Flevoland's history. In 1985 the breakwaters were repaired. By applying new plants, the Knarhaven became clearly visible in the landscape.

THE KNAR
Plots P and S were both part of the current Knardijk, the division between Eastern and Southern Flevoland. The Knardijk owes its name to the Knar, a former shoal in the Zuiderzee. This shoal was about two kilometers long and one kilometer wide. They were rich fishing grounds where shrimp and herring spawned. Now here is the Knarbos.