zeeweringen

Zeeweringen are coastal defenses in the Netherlands designed to protect low-lying land from the sea. They comprise a range of structures—dikes (dykes), sea walls, dune systems, and floodgates—often working together with inland pumping stations and drainage systems to keep the land dry behind them. The primary purpose is to prevent storm surges and high tides from inundating polders and populated areas along the North Sea and the Wadden Sea coasts.

Geographically, zeeweringen line the western and northern Netherlands, from Zeeland and Zuid-Holland along the North Sea coast to parts of Friesland and the Wadden Islands. They are part of a broader water-management system that combines coastal barriers with inland polder drainage and sluice gates.

Historically, Dutch coast defense evolved from medieval dikes to large-scale engineered barriers. The Zuiderzee Works, completed in the early 20th century, included the Afsluitdijk (1932), transforming the Zuiderzee into the IJsselmeer. After the 1953 North Sea Flood, a comprehensive Delta Works program was undertaken, featuring major storm-surge barriers such as the Oosterscheldekering and other dams and sluices to protect the southwestern delta.

Management rests with the country’s water authorities (waterschappen) and national agencies, which plan, fund, and maintain zeeweringen, adapting them to sea-level rise and climate-change scenarios. As essential components of the Netherlands’ distinctive approach to water management, zeeweringen help secure land use, housing, agriculture, and infrastructure along the coast.