Tijdschrift voor Historische Geografie - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2023

Once upon a time there was a nature park in Kaatsheuvel

About different perceptions of nature and their influence on the landscape of the Efteling

The Efteling is Netherland’s best known theme park, but what few people know is that it was originally a nature park. Up to this day the ‘Efteling Nature Park Foundation’ is still at the head of the organisation. As the Efteling has recently started to actively promote its identity as a nature park again, this raises the question what defines a nature park and how this has taken shape in the Efteling. This article elaborates on the perception of nature of the Efteling’s three founders: Anton Pieck, Peter Reijnders and Reinier van der Heijden, and how their perception has influenced the development of the Efteling as a landscape. In this article I distinguish three types of nature: indigenous nature, cultivated nature and artificial nature. I examine how they, consciously or unconsciously, have been applied in the Efteling’s scenery. Defining what nature is, is essential for the future development of the theme park as a landscape.

The creation of a unique peat landscape: the Molenpolder near Westbroek (province of Utrecht)

In the Middle Ages most of the peatlands in the western part of the Netherlands were turned into agricultural land. In the Early Modern period large parts of this peatland were dug up in order to provide the upcoming towns and cities with fuel. This process of extraction – even below the ground water line by dredging –was still going on in some parts at the beginning of the 19th century when the land registry (Kadaster) was rolled out. This is the case in Molenpolder, a settlement north of the city of Utrecht, which today is a nature reserve. The strips of land (‘legakkers’) on which the peat was laid to dry and the peat holes in between are well preserved. The cadastral map offers a snapshot of how these strips were formed. The lord of the manor of Westbroek wanted to prevent all of his domain being turned into water and in 1790 started researching which part was best suited for peat extraction. A map of this research shows equally sized parcels which according to the Kadaster map (1832) were divided among the farmers in the vicinity, resulting in a mosaic of ownership. After the period of peat extraction, a process of hydrosere took place. The mosaic of ownership and therefore different levels of maintenance of each parcel resulted in a mosaic of different stages of ecological succession. After World War II a process of forestation started. Today the landscape is a mosaic of ponds, small pastures, marsh woodland, quake and thatch fields and other stages of ecological succession.

A tree on Walcheren, more than a dot on the (historical) map

Topographical maps, even when consulted numerous times, can suddenly reveal a name, a number, an element never noticed before. The so-called Bonnekaart (page 616, edition 1926) shows the word ‘Boom’ (tree), halfway Vrouwenpolder and Veere, on the north-eastern coast of Walcheren (Zeeland). Which function can be attributed to this specific and marked tree to legitimate it being mentioned on the map? In this article we distinguish and judge several possibilities.