Batavialand

Batavialand in Lelystad is a heritage park and museum devoted to the Dutch struggle with water and the creation of new land. It brings together two earlier institutions: a museum about the reclamation of the polders, and the shipyard where a replica of the seventeenth-century sailing ship Batavia was built. Lelystad, the capital of the province of Flevoland, is itself the product of that story, since it stands on land that was drained from the former Zuiderzee in the twentieth century and is named after the engineer Cornelis Lely, who planned the project.

The museum part tells the story of land and water. It explains how the Dutch fought the sea with dikes, mills and pumps for centuries, how the Zuiderzee was closed off by the Afsluitdijk in 1932, and how the new polders were drained, farmed and settled. Exhibitions use maps, models, film and interactive displays to make the technical subjects accessible, and they show how daily life changed for the pioneers who moved to land that had been sea bed. The theme is the Dutch relationship with water, a subject that sums up the national character.

The ship is the other main attraction. The original Batavia was a ship of the East India Company that was wrecked off the coast of Western Australia in 1629 on its first voyage, and its story, which included a mutiny and massacre, is among the most dramatic of the era. The replica was built in the late twentieth century using the construction methods of the time, and visitors can go on board, see the cramped quarters and learn how the ship was made. Craftspeople at the shipyard continue to use traditional techniques.

Other sights nearby add variety. The Aviodrome aviation museum, the Batavia Stad outlet shopping village, the nature park of Lelystad and the land art along the Houtribdijk, including works named Exposure and Observatorium, are all within reach. The tulip route in spring takes visitors through the flower fields of the Noordoostpolder and Flevoland.

Batavialand suits families, history lovers and anyone interested in engineering. The park is open on most days of the week, with longer hours during school holidays, but check the website for current times and tickets. Allow half a day, and wear layers for the open-air parts. The story begins in the Golden Age and runs to the present.