Waterloopbos National Heritage Site

Waterloopbos

A massive national monument

In the Waterloopbos, the Dutch learned to work with water. Our global reputation as a water nation is thanks to all the research conducted in this forest. It is a special place in the Noordoostpolder that we, as Dutch people, can be proud of.

Waterloopbos National Monument is a historic open-air laboratory in a beautiful polder forest. Hundreds of studies on water behavior were conducted here. You can find remnants of research on the Delta Works, as well as waterworks for exotic locations like the harbor of Lagos. The forest is freely accessible from sunrise to sunset. Marked walking routes guide you past the models of waterworks that lie as ruins in the forest.

Laboratory

The numerous models in the Waterloopbos are thanks to the former Waterloopkundig Laboratorium De Voorst. The oldest models date back to the 1950s, a time of reconstruction when major waterworks were constructed. Extensive research was required for these projects, and the space to carry it out was found in this young polder forest, where water was abundant. In the forest, both Dutch and foreign harbors, rivers, and coasts were scientifically replicated as models. From the harbor of Bangkok to the coast of Denmark, from the Willemstunnel in Rotterdam to the harbor of IJmuiden. In total, more than 200 different studies were conducted here. Want to know more? Read about it on the website of Natuurmonumenten.