Online genealogy in Flevoland

It is odd to talk about the new province Flevoland on a genealogy site. A century ago, nearly all of Flevoland was water part of the Zuiderzee (Southern Sea, a small inland sea). In the early 1930s, the Afsluitdijk (Closure Dike) closed off the Zuiderzee and turned it into a fresh water lake, the IJsselmeer (Lake IJssel). Since then, several large polders were created in the IJsselmeer, where people now live on the bottom of the (former) sea. Since 1986 these polders form the province Flevoland.

Two places were inhabited before the 20th century, though: The former islands Urk and Schokland (the latter was evacuated in 1859 and uninhabited since then). The northeastern part of Flevoland is inhabited since the early 1940s.

• The provincial archive, Nieuw Land Museum (New Land Museum), and others participate in the websites Nieuw Land Erfgoed (New Land Heritage), Flevolands Geheugen (Flevoland's Memory), and Flevoland boven water (Flevoland above the water). All websites are in Dutch.
• Church books and BMD records of Schokland and Urk are indexed in Genlias.
• There are images of the past on Flevoland boven water and on local sites, for example Schokland.
• For indexes of cemeteries and photos of tombstones visit Graftombe (Tomb) or Online Begraafplaatsen (Online Cemeteries).
• Discuss your Flevoland roots at the Ancestry message board Flevoland.

For more information see Genealogy in Flevoland.

Photo: Construction of the Afsluitdijk, 1931, unknown photographer. From Wikimedia Commons.