World Heritage Photos

Wouda Steam Pumping Station: For centuries, the Dutch polders were drained by windmills. In the 19th century, the Dutch started to replace the windmills by steam pumping stations. In the beginning of the 20th century, there were more than 600 steam pumping stations in operation across the Netherlands. Nowadays, the steam pumping stations are replaced by modern diesel and electric pumping station. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station was built in 1920 and is the largest steam-driven pumping station still operating in the world. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station, the Woudagemaal, is situated in Lemmer. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station was built to prevent a large part of Friesland from flooding in times of extreme rainfall. The building was constructed in the style of the Amsterdam School Architecture. The machine hall houses four steam machines, the machines and flywheels drive eight pumps, these pumps can move four million litres of water per minute from the polders. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station pumps the water from the boezem into Lake IJsselmeer which is connected to the Wadden Sea. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station is still in working condition and is a symbol of the Age of Steam and the water management in the Netherlands. The Ir.D.F.Woudagemaal (D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station) gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1998.

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   The Wouda Steam Pumping Station is the largest steam-pumping station ever built and is still in working condition. The steam pumping station is situated on the banks of Lake IJsselmeer, just outside Lemmer, a town in the province of Friesland, a historical region in the northern part of the Netherlands. The Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal, the D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station, gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1998.

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   In the Netherlands, for several centuries thousands of windmills were used to drain the polders. The windmills were replaced by steam pumping stations in the 19th century. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station is the largest steam-driven pumping station in the world that is still in working condition. The steam pumping station was built to prevent a large part of the Dutch province of Friesland from flooding in times of extreme rainfall.

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   The enormous engine hall of the Wouda Steam Pumping Station, on the left hand side the office of the chief engineer. The steam pumping station is still fully operational and is still used under extreme weather conditions, when the J.L. Hooglandgemaal, a modern electric pumping station in the Frisian town of Stavoren, has reached its capacity, this happens several times a year. The steam pumping station was opened in 1920 by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.

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   Wouda Steam Pumping Station: The huge machine hall houses four steam machines. The four steam machines and flywheels drive eight pumps, who can move four million litres of water per minute from the boezem, a boezem is a drainage basin or huge network of drainage canals and rivers. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station pumps the water from the Frisian boezem into Lake IJsselmeer. From Lake IJsselmeer, the water flows into the Wadden Sea.

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   Wouda Steam Pumping Station: One of the steam machines in the machine hall. Friesland has about 800 polder pumps, they pump the water from the polders into the boezem, the drainage basin. Large pumping stations are used to pump the water from the boezem into the sea. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station pumps the water from the boezem into Lake IJsselmeer which is connected to the Wadden Sea by a series of sluices in the Afsluitdijk, a dam in the Netherlands.

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   Ir.D.F.Woudagemaal (D.F.Wouda Steam Pumping Station): Copper oil cans used to lubricate the machinery. The pumping station is well maintained, because it is still in working condition. The well-oiled machines in the engine hall runs like clockwork. The Dutch word for pumping station is 'gemaal'. The Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal (D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station) was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.

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   One of the steam engines of the Wouda Steam Pumping Station is running, the steam machines are connected to powerful flywheels. The steam machines and pumps were made by the Dutch Machine Factory Jaffa in Utrecht. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station started operation in 1920 and is still operational. The pumping station can only be visited by guided tour, the tour starts at the visitor centre next to the pumping station.

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   D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station: Nowadays, four enormous heavy fuel oil boilers produce the steam, the steam provides the energy to power the steam machines. Once, the boiler house of the Wouda Steam Pumping Station contained six boilers to produce the steam. In 1967, after running on coal for 47 years, the six boilers were replaced by four boilers running on heavy fuel oil.

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   A powerful autumn storm approaches the Wouda Steam Pumping Station. During wet seasons, the pumping stations pump the water from the polders into the boezem, (drainage basin), the boezem is also used to store water temporarily. During dry seasons, the water is pumped from the boezem into the polders for irrigation purposes. The poplar trees bordering the canal have been cut down and replaced by elm trees in 2917.

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    D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station: The building was constructed in the style of the Amsterdam School Architecture, an important Dutch architectural movement in the period 1915-1940. The style of the Amsterdam School is characterized by brick constructions, elaborate and decorative masonry, ladder windows and art glass work. Inside the steam pumping station, the walls of the engine hall are beautiful tiled.

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    Ir.D.F.Woudagemaal (D.F.Wouda Steam Pumping Station): A photo collage in the Wouda Steam Pumping Station visitor centre. Most of the photos used in this collage were made by Albertine Slotboom. All the photos in the collage show several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The modern visitor centre was built next to the pumping station in 2011. The Wouda Steam Pumping Station was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.