De Dikke Paal

De Dikke Paal

The Dikke Paal next to the roundabout was the boundary post that indicated where the maintenance obligations with regard to the West Frisian sea dike were. The coats of arms of Drechterland and the Vier Noorder Koggen are depicted on the post. These were the water boards that had traditionally maintained the dike sections under Winkel. Here ended the section of the dike that was maintained by the Vier Noorder Koggen and began the section that was allocated to Drechterland in 1339. Wijdenes in Drechterland had the honour of maintaining this section of the dike, which was far away from that village. It was of great importance to indicate precisely how far each craft had to maintain the dike. After all, the maintenance was divided among the population. And they had to know exactly where they stood. A craft had to know to the ell or rod how far its power extended. This pole is the replacement for the one that was burned during the famine winter of 1944 and was replaced here in 1991 at the initiative of the Stichting Historisch Niedorp.

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