Postcard from Koepel Zeeburg, Oostvoorne, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands. It is a small monument of the cooperation among people, cooperation that is both necessary and pleasant. The coastal island of Voorne-Putten in the Southwest of the Netherlands was always dependent on the protection from the sea by natural sand dunes and the man-made dyke surrounding the island. In the maintenance of such flood protection, regular checking of the dikes and dunes is essential.
Koepel Zeeburg was built in 1742 for the meetings of those inspecting the protection works – the so-called Generale Dijkage (General Flood Protection). This consisted of a Dyke Master and representatives of water management of six small polder water boards (heemraadschappen), which take care of the different land units within the island. From the 17th century, the flood protection became a collective responsibility. Prior to that, each water board was responsible for the dyke section adjacent to its land, but for some water boards this became too heavy an effort.
They would meet, drink a glass, and then go out to inspect. After the inspection, they would dine and discuss further at the local pub. As an embodiment of the cooperation, a beautiful but simple octagonal building was made with an elegant dome. The inspection meetings were a small celebration in their own right. The Dyke master and representatives of the polder promised to do justice unanimously and without prejudice, and to celebrate this in the end, they would all drink from the same beautiful silver ornamented vessel, the so-called Hensbeker, as a testimony to their brotherhood. Drinking from the silver vessel was special. Any new member of the Dykage was initiated by having to empty the vessel in one go. After the drinking, members would write small wisdoms and poems in a special Drinkboek – Drinking Book. The name Hensbeker comes from ‘all hands together’.
The special shape of the building was also its undoing in the Second World War, when the German army built the Atlantic Wall – the enormous defense against an attack from the sea – stretching from Norway to France. This was part of an enormous bunker-building program, with bunkers being peppered all over the coastline. Many buildings were demolished either because they stood in the way of the firing line or because they were too characteristic and could be used as a beacon/ deacon by British war planes. So was the fate of Koepel Zuidburgh: demolished in 1942 by the German forces.
The memory of the little monument did not fade away, though, and in 2014, with the cooperation of many institutions and sponsors, Koepel Zeeburg was rebuilt.
