Museum Schokland

Museum Schokland is the visitor museum of the former island of Schokland, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Noordoostpolder in Flevoland, and it is the best place to understand what you are looking at in the surrounding fields. The museum stands on the Middelbuurt, the central dwelling mound of the old island, in a small cluster of historic buildings that includes a church from the nineteenth century. The setting is quiet and a little unreal: you are standing on what used to be an island in a sea that no longer exists.

The story the museum tells is the story of the land itself. Thousands of years ago, the area was a sandy ridge, and early hunters and farmers lived there. Over time the sea rose, the land slowly eroded, and Schokland became an island, with its inhabitants building up mounds to keep themselves and their animals above the floods. The collections include geological material such as rocks and fossils, and large glacial erratics, boulders carried from Scandinavia by the ice sheets of the Ice Age and left behind when they melted. Archaeological finds, from tools and pottery to remains of houses, show how people lived on the edge of land and water, and some of the evidence goes back to the Stone Age.

The exhibits follow the transformation of the island from a peninsula into an island, and then into land again after the Noordoostpolder was drained in 1942. The people were evacuated in 1859, after repeated floods made life impossible, and the museum explains how the Dutch government and the community came to that decision. Outside, walking routes lead across the dwelling mounds, along the former shoreline and past the ruins and monuments, with signs that explain the layout. Together, the indoor and outdoor displays make clear why UNESCO recognised the place as an outstanding example of living with water.

Opening hours are limited, usually from late morning to late afternoon on most days of the week, and ticket prices change with the season, with reductions for children and families, so check before you go. The museum has a small shop and cafe, and the landscape outside can be very windy, so bring a jacket. The national monuments at the site, the Schokland Harbor and Lighthouse and the other mounds, are free to explore.

The museum suits families, history lovers, and anyone who likes quiet places with a story. Allow about an hour for the exhibitions and another hour for the walks, and combine it with a cycle ride through the polder.