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Yet Another Wayward Archipelago—The Wadden Sea
The peoples of islands and archipelagos do not let others dictate how to live their lives. One of those archipelagos that meets these criteria as well is the Wadden Sea. For centuries, it is from here that sea explorers, tax evaders, sturdy Arctic whalers, self-righteous women, pirates, privateers, and other vagabonds have come. An archipelago that the Sea Beggars and the earliest trouser-wearing women call home. Even the first atheist of modern times comes from this archipel
Hans Faber
Apr 5, 202146 min read


Out of Averting the Inevitable an Unruly Community Was Born
On March 25, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic was climbing towards its second peak. There was uncertainty about how destructive the...
Hans Faber
Mar 25, 202038 min read


Hero of Haarlem, or Dragon in Disguise? Rethinking Sea-Level Rise Strategies
It was a Yankee by the name of Mary Mapes Dodge who wrote ‘Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland’. The book was published in New York in 1865. It is about poor, 15-year-old Hans and his sister, Gretel. Gretel wins the Silver Skates, the prize for winning an ice skating race. After that, everything turns out for the best, and the Brinkers are one big happy family. The book also contains the story of the Hero of Haarlem. It is the world-famous story of
Hans Faber
Mar 10, 201914 min read


Burn Beacons Burn. A Coastal Inferno—Nordfriesland
Nordfriesland or North Frisia. The western coast and islands of the region of Schleswig. Stretching from the Danish town Tønder in the...
Hans Faber
Oct 14, 201813 min read


Bil: A Wasteland of Non-Integrated Migrants?
This is the story of the land reclaimed from the former Middelzee—a shallow inland sea that once split the present-day province of Friesland in two, separating the ancient pagus Westrachia  (modern district Westergo) from pagus Austrachia (modern district Oostergo). The name Middelzee  literally means 'middle sea.' Closing this watery rift took centuries. Through a succession of smaller and larger embankments—continuing into the early seventeenth century—new land was steadil
Hans Faber
May 13, 201810 min read


Refuge on a Terp 2.0. Waiting to Be Liberated
pumping station Lely by Joh. H. van Mastenbroek August 21, 1930, Wieringermeer in the province of Noord Holland. The reclamation of just another piece of the Zuiderzee 'southern sea' was completed. A wooded area, when it was still land, that was called Creilerwoud. Land lost to the sea eight centuries ago during the most destructive All Saints' Flood in the year 1170. The embanked land—or polder  in the Dutch language—is now being named Wieringermeerpolder instead of Creiler
Hans Faber
Mar 31, 20186 min read


The Mother of all Dykes
Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to get down and dirty. Nope, this article is not about lesbians . This dyke is not made of flesh and...

Frans Riemersma
Apr 29, 20173 min read
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