Information AboutBiesbosch |
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The Biesbosch (older spelling, however more often used) or '''Biesbos''' (newer spelling - despite the fact it is the only correct spelling, it is not often used), meaning 'Reed Woods' is one of the largest National Parks of the Netherlands . It is one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe. The Biesbosch consists of a large network of rivers and smaller and larger creeks with islands. The flora is mostly willow forests, with some grasslands and fields of reed. The Biesbosch was created when to the west, the Land Van Altena (with the City of Woudrichem ) to the east, and the Brackish Swamp s of the Biesbosch between. The Grote Hollandse Waard collapsed because of the difficult economic situation in the area, and the difficulties between the political entities within. As a result the maintanance of the dykes protecting the area came to a halt. Very high river levels combined with a severe storm surge coming in from the sea resulted in the flooding of most of the Grote Hollandse Waard. Although some parts of it could be saved, most of the area changed into a network of sea-arms. The most important of those where the Hollands Diep and the Bergse Diep. Both were connected to the Haringvliet which existed before the disaster as a saltisch sea-arm, but from that moment on served as a brackish and important estuary of the rivers Rhine and Meuse . A persistent misunderstanding says that the Biesbosch arose by this storm flood in one night. It is true that this flood broke dikes of the then Grote Hollandse Waard or Zuid Hollandse Waard, but it needed dozens of years before the whole area was under water and had changed to the Biesbosch with its creeks and reeds. In the beginning the Bergse Diep was an shallow but extended body of water, with high tides but also a predominance of fresh water. The deposits of the rivers caused the waters to become only submerged at high tides. From that moment on the area was called Bergse Veld and later on the Biesbosch. A network of interconnecting creeks, mudflats and forrested areas was created. It served as a sort of inland delta of the large rivers feeding it. A significant result of this was that the former estuary arms of the Rhine and Meuse, further north-west, were devoid of much of the inflow of fresh water. This caused the rivers to fill with deposits, so the important shipping route between Rotterdam and the backland was no longer usable. In the last centuries conditions changed significantly. Most of the Biesbosch was reclaimed and turned into polders. The connection with Rotterdam was restored by blocking the build-up of deposits by artificial means. Most of the Biesbosch creeks were dammed-up to lower the risk of flooding. A shipping canal was created to distribute the flow of the rivers: the Nieuwe Merwede . Before 1970 a connection with the sea existed, and the tidal differences were, on average, two meters. Due to the inflow of the Meuse and Waal rivers, fresh water continued to dominate. The tidal differences diminished after 1970 when the Delta Works closed the Haringvliet and with it the Biesbosch's direct connection with the sea. In World War II , the area was used by Dutch residents to hide out from the German occupation forces in the Netherlands. A resistance group was formed that, late in the war, captured Germans fleeing to the north from what was then the Allied -held south of the Netherlands. In the winter of 1944 , the area was crossed by refugees from the occupied north, while, at the same time, it was being used to smuggle Medicine s to the north. |