The Poldertower

The Poldertower, the imaginary center of the Noordoostpolder, is located in the middle of De Deel in Emmeloord. The location has been chosen so that the tower immediately catches the eye from all roads to Emmeloord. In the thirties of the twentieth century, before the Noordoostpolder had dried up, it was decided that a high tower would be placed on the central square of Emmeloord. It could not be a church tower because none of the churches were allowed to dominate over the other. It had to be a monument, a central landmark, in the flat polder land and a symbol of the polder's unity.

The Polder tower is 65.30 m high and therefore the highest water tower in the Netherlands. The architecture is characteristic of the Delft School, just like the surrounding buildings. The tower stands on an octagonal floor plan with a diameter of 14.00 m and becomes 0.60 m narrower upwards. The masonry is executed in yellow-gray nuanced walestone. The walls are completely separate from the concrete structure, in which 624 tonnes of cement and 185 tonnes of steel were used. On five of the eight sides, the side where the rain is on, 7200 drainage pipes are bricked in vertically, which causes a quick drying of the outside brickwork. This is intended as a remedy for the frequent failure of frost damage in water towers. The tower originally had 6 floors. On the 3rd to 5th floor, there were three height reservoirs of 425 m³. In the base of the tower, underground, there was a low-lying reservoir of 575 m³. The total water storage capacity was therefore 1850 m³. The idea that the tower should be central not only geographically but also in the lives of the polder residents was given shape in the building plan in a platform above the highest water reservoir. In the recessed space between the reservoirs and the outer wall, a staircase with 243 steps leads up to the sixth floor, which is formed by an openwork lantern with the viewing platform in it. The platform, which is 43.40 m high and has a diameter of 13.40 m, can also be reached with a lift. The polder tower has a pyramid roof clad with copper plates that rests on wooden roof construction and is crowned with a 5 m high gilt weather vane. The Public Body De Noordoostelijke Polder has made the timepiece, with a diameter of 5.40 m, available. A dial has been placed on four sides of the tower, the numbers and hands of which are gilded. The timepiece is connected to the world atomic clock in Zurich. Source: cultural heritage.nl

The biggest chimes (carillon) in the Netherlands at that time are hanging in the lantern. Below that, on the viewing platform, the keyboard is connected to the clappers in a glass cage. The range of the carillon covers 4 octaves