On Wednesday, November 12, the Dutch National Heritage Board protected 19 Norwegian houses - in the Netherlands.
These are houses that were donated after the catastrophic flood in 1953: Watersnood, or the North Sea Flood. Storms and flash floods caused the dikes to burst and over 1,800 people died, along with tens of thousands of livestock.
- This tells us about unity and hope in Europe," says Hanna Geiran, Minister of Antiquities.
- Norway was a poor country right after the war, and we ourselves had a housing shortage. Nevertheless, the Nordic countries joined forces to send help. Older Norwegians still remember the images from the Netherlands of people stranded on rooftops," says Geiran.
Why are Norwegian houses being protected now?
In the Netherlands, large areas of land were completely damaged by the floodwater, over an area slightly smaller than Vestfold. People were also killed in England, Belgium and at sea, bringing the total death toll to 2,385.
Norway, Sweden and Denmark provided assistance and emergency aid in the form of prefabricated houses and building materials. Together, the Nordic countries provided 850 prefabricated houses.
In memory of the flood and the help that the Netherlands received from the Nordics, a total of 45 houses will now be preserved - and 19 of them are Norwegian.
The houses are still in use
The houses are still in use as residential homes. Five of the Norwegian houses are located in Burgh-Haamstede, six in Hansweert and eight in Puttershoek.
- This is a type of house that we haven't been very good at recognizing the cultural heritage value of in Norway," says Geiran.
- They are probably perceived as both ordinary and not particularly old. Perhaps the Dutch preservation can teach us that our recent past can also be of great value," she says.
Facts about the Dutch National Heritage Board
The Netherlands has a governmental cultural environment authority that corresponds to the Norwegian National Heritage Board: Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE). They are subordinate to the Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science).
RCE's tasks:
- manage the official list of national cultural monuments
- responsibility for protected urban and landscape areas, archaeology, and the state's art collections
- provide advice, knowledge development and grant schemes for both fixed and movable cultural heritage
- implement Erfgoedwet (Heritage Act) and provide input to planning processes to safeguard cultural heritage values
- RCE functions as both a technical directorate and knowledge center, and has an active role in research, restoration and international cooperation on cultural heritage
