Nieuwkoopse plassen – Reinier & Josua Ottens, 1742

THE EXCAVATED LANDS AROUND NIEUWKOOP, ZEVENHOVEN, NIEUWVEEN, KORTERAAR, AND AARLANDERVEEN

“Nieuwe aftekening tot droogmakinge van de uytgeveende landen geleegen in Rynland, Amstelland, & Utrecht als Nieukoop, Sevenhoven, Nieuveen, Schoot, de graaflykheyt Korteraar, Aarlanderveen, en d’ Proosdy” [New delineation for the drainage of the excavated lands located in Rijnland, Amstelland, & Utrecht, such as Nieuwkoop, Zevenhoven, Nieuwveen, Schoot, the County of Korteraar, Aarlanderveen, and the deanery.] Copper engraving based on the design by Lodewijk Kraakhorst, published in 1742 by Reinier and Josua Ottens. Coloured by a later hand. Size: 41.5 x 56.7 cm.

From the 14th century onwards, the demand for peat as fuel in the western Netherlands increased explosively. Due to the lack of easily drainable high peat complexes, many areas switched to “wet” peat extraction, leading to the formation of peat pits with narrow strips of land between them.

The work of surveyor Lodewijk Kraakhorst shows the condition of the Nieuwkoop and Zevenhoven lakes at the time, which had formed over years of peat dredging. This rare map was created in connection with plans to drain the area—plans that were only realized between 1796 and 1809. The map clearly illustrates how much the Dutch polder landscape has changed over the centuries.

Peat extraction in the Nieuwkoopse Plassen ceased around 1850. After that, dredging continued only in the large water bodies (mainly in the Noordeinderplas and Zuideinderplas). The drained peat lakes were subsequently used for agriculture.

Price: Euro 1.450,-