Goudriaankanaal
The Goudriaankanaal should form a connection between Amsterdam and the Zuidersee , and lead from Marken to Ijdoorn ( Durgerdam ). Construction work began in 1826 and stopped again in 1828. The canal route can still be seen in aerial photographs.
history
Amsterdam had long struggled with the silting up of the IJ , the only connection to the Zuidersee, and thus to the oceans. The ships were often off pampus before they could enter Amsterdam. For this reason, Wilhelm I of the Netherlands had the Noordhollandsch Kanaal built in 1824 , which connected Amsterdam with Den Helder . However, to many this connection seemed too long for an efficient commercial connection. Among them was the Inspector General of the Waterstaat ( Ministry of Water Engineering) Adrianus Francois Goudriaan (1768–1829). He was in favor of damming the IJ through a dam between Durgerdam and Diemen and building a canal from Durgerdam to Marken. Amsterdam was strictly against the damming of the IJ, and the king did not want to turn the city against him. There were also concerns about building the canal through Waterland as the ground was very soft.
In April 1825, the king gave the order to dam the IJ and build the canal.
Construction of the canal
Goudriaan's plans envisaged a 150 meter wide canal through Waterland from Durgerdam over the Gouwsee, which still had to be dammed, to the east side of Marken. This would have divided the island. The Ijdamm between Diemen and Durgerdam should be provided with a lock for small ships.
Land was expropriated, companies contracted, and construction began in 1826. But right from the start you had to struggle with financial problems, as the contractors had estimated the construction costs to be higher than the approved construction costs. The Tweede Kamer protested against the high costs and the king wanted to pay for the construction from his property.
Amsterdam still opposed the damming of the IJ. In 1828, the Chamber of Commerce pointed out the shallows in brands that were comparable to those in Pampus. They also saw the lock in the Ijdamm as an obstacle for professional fishermen. In exchange for a strike against the Goudriaan Plan, the Chamber and the Amsterdam Municipality agreed to build two new ports, the Ooster and Westerdock . The King had proposed this several times, but Amsterdam constantly opposed it.
Goudriaan also recognized the problem with the shallows at Marken, and the solution with longer port entrances would have been too expensive. Thereupon the construction was stopped. The canal was already navigable on Marken.
epilogue
Goudriaan died in 1826, one year after construction work stopped. The dam in the Gouwsee was torn down and the canal was filled in again over the years. The two new harbor basins were completed in 1832 and 1834, in 1872 the IJ was dammed on the east side with the construction of the Oranjesluizen . The North Sea Canal was opened in 1876, giving Amsterdam a full connection to the North Sea.
Web links
- Het Goudriaankanaal door Waterland in the internet archive (Dutch)
-
Het kanaal door Waterland en Marken (Dutch)
- history
- cards
- Photos Interactive partial maps of the canal through which many photos can be called up
- References
Coordinates: 52 ° 24 ′ 7 ″ N , 5 ° 1 ′ 5 ″ E