Studying images taken from space, or Google maps, you can see a strange lake, as if cut into even thin strips. Not knowing anything about the unique water body located in the Netherlands, you might think that this is some kind of hardware failure or someone's joke, because this cannot be. As it turned out, this is not at all a deception and not errors, but the only masterpiece in the world to which Mother Nature has only an indirect relationship, both to the lakes themselves, which form a huge reservoir, and to narrow, ideally even strips of land stretching into the distance.
The Netherlands is a unique country located in the northwestern part of Europe. It is famous for its picturesque landscapes, wilderness corners, flowering fields, windmills and water bodies, one of which deserves special attention.
This object is especially impressive from a bird's eye view. It is from this perspective that you can see why the Vinkeveense Plassen is so remarkable, forming a giant reservoir, which in translation means "Heart of the Lakes". This attraction is located in the province of Utrecht, which boasts six deep rivers and wetlands at once, which was one of the reasons for the appearance of a huge man-made lake, but it was still the economic activity of people that provoked its formation.
Historical reference: Initially, this territory belonged to the German emperor Otto I, who did not see any prospects in the development of these lands and in 953 presented them to the Bishop of Utrecht. He also decided to transfer a rather impressive plot of land to the Order of St. John, whose monks began to develop it. Soon it became known that sphagnum moss grows here, which is the main generator of peat, which turned these lands into a valuable raw material object. From then until the middle of the 20th century, the monks and residents of the De Ronde Venen community actively mined peat, which became the main source of the region's livelihood, since it was used not only for their own needs. The lion's share of the resources went on sale throughout the Netherlands and even to other countries.
During the extraction of the rock with a special tool, layers of peat were cut out in the form of bricks and they were folded on narrow patches of land, which were subsequently covered with dredged sand so that the fossil fuel dries out well. Over the centuries of such mining, not only very long strips for drying peat were formed, but also significant depressions that were flooded by groundwater. This process was also facilitated by the presence of 6 rivers in the immediate vicinity. Channels began to form, which over time merged together, turning into a lake of gigantic proportions. According to the Novate.ru editors, the depth of some canals reaches the fantastic figure of 50 m, but the reason for this was the extraction of sand from the underlying layer, which was used for the construction of the highway.
In the mid-70s of the last century, the water swallowed up the entire lowland area, only strips of land remained, which very quickly became covered with various vegetation and began to attract people. Initially, the locals used the man-made islands for fishing and recreation, and over time they began to build houses, lay streets and sidewalks, or sow fields. City dwellers arranged suburban residences, more enterprising people began to build hotels and mini-hotels, in which outdoor enthusiasts (to drive on boats, jet skis, skis, etc.) and avid fishermen could stay, because there are a lot of large species of freshwater fish.
The only thing is that all the objects that have appeared since that time among the lake on the man-made islands were built without any permits, which could soon play a cruel joke with the owners of the houses. For more than a dozen years, there have been disputes over the misappropriation of land, but this does not in any way affect the popularity among tourists. The amazing beauty of the islands, radiating rays towards the center of the lake, increasingly attract fans of eco-tourism and outdoor activities in the bosom of nature.
You can become the owner of your own island not only by grabbing a piece of land in the middle of a reservoir, bypassing the laws of the country. And, for example, collect it from plastic bottles and various garbage by yourself, as the British artist did.