Urk
Urk is first mentioned in historical records dating to the 10th century, when it was still an island in the IJsselmeer, a lake that would become part of the Zuiderzee in the 13th century after a series of incursions by the North Sea. In 1939, a dike from the mainland to Urk ended the town's island status, just as the Afsluitdijk project was changing the salt water Zuiderzee surrounding Urk to the less saline IJsselmeer. Later in the 20th century, seabed areas surrounding Urk were reclaimed from the sea and became the Noordoostpolder.
All galleries listed below are shot in Urk.
Images from galleries after 2006 are available in high resolution. Contact me if you like to license any of the images. The private use is free for everyone. Visit shop.drokov.com to order high quality prints.