stuwde

Stuwde is a Dutch term that historically refers to a type of small river lock or dam used in low‑lying regions of the Netherlands. The word derives from the verb “stuwen,” which means “to drive” or “to push” in Dutch, and was employed during the Middle Ages to describe mechanisms that controlled water flow in reclaimed land. In its earliest known usage, the term appears in the 14th‑century land‑record charters of the province of Gelderland, where stuwde structures were listed as essential for protecting polder gardens from flooding.

The typical stuwde consisted of a timber frame filled with stone or earth, forming a low sluice gate that could be opened or closed by manual wedges. Unlike larger water management works such as dikes or the elaborate Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta locks, stuwde were relatively simple and cheap to construct, allowing peasants to modify water levels within their plots. In many rural communities, small stuwde were shared communal assets and maintained by a local water board, an early form of municipal water authority.

By the 17th century, advances in hydraulic engineering and the construction of more robust dam systems reduced the widespread use of stuwde. Few surviving examples remain, typically found as modest earthen remnants in the central Netherlands. Historical studies of stuwde are of special interest to researchers of Dutch water management, as they illustrate early adaptive strategies to a high‑arable, low‑lying environment.