Man-made Lowlands; A Future for ancient dykes in the Netherlands

Dykes are a defining feature of the Netherlands’ cultural landscape. This brochure offers practical guidelines on how to deal with the cultural and historical value of dykes.

Dykes in Dutch landscape

Since 2012, local authorities have been expected to take account of structures with a distinct cultural heritage value, including dykes, when formulating their land use plans. Given that the Netherlands boasts many thousands of kilometres of dykes, how do you decide whether a particular dyke deserves special treatment? How can local authorities and other stakeholders ensure that dykes are treated correctly and appropriately? This publication makes a distinction between two types of dykes; those which still serve as a flood barrier and dyke relics. The latter play a defining role in the Dutch landscape but have lost their water-defence function.

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Series: Een toekomst voor
Authors: The Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency with a contribution by Marije Schaafsma-Tilstra (Royal Haskoning DHV)
The Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency, August 2013