Vreeswijk
Encyclopedia
Vreeswijk is a former village and municipality in the Dutch
province of Utrecht
. The municipality merged with Jutphaas
in 1971, and is now the southern half of the town of Nieuwegein
.
The former village was located on the Lek River
, near where it is crossed by the Merwede Canal. The old village centre around the locks has been preserved reasonably well.
This lock is said to be the oldest example of a pound lock in Europe.
This was the key innovation which gave rise to the modern canal
, by virtue of having two gates,
although it was a larger basin capable of holding a number of ships at once.
The Lek was normally at a slightly higher level than the canal leading to Utrecht
and in times of flood was very much higher, so that it would not be possible to let boats enter or leave without flooding the surrounding land. The additional gate limited the amount of water that needed to be let in, so that only the basin needed to be raised.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province of Utrecht
Utrecht (province)
Utrecht is the smallest province of the Netherlands in terms of area, and is located in the centre of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer in the north, Gelderland in the east, the river Rhine in the south, South Holland in the west, and North Holland in the northwest...
. The municipality merged with Jutphaas
Jutphaas
Jutphaas is a former village and municipality in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands. The municipality merged with Vreeswijk in 1971, and is now the northern half of the town of Nieuwegein....
in 1971, and is now the southern half of the town of Nieuwegein
Nieuwegein
Nieuwegein is a municipality and city in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is bordered on the north by the city of Utrecht, the provincial capital...
.
The former village was located on the Lek River
Lek River
The Lek is a river in the western Netherlands of some 60 km in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River...
, near where it is crossed by the Merwede Canal. The old village centre around the locks has been preserved reasonably well.
This lock is said to be the oldest example of a pound lock in Europe.
This was the key innovation which gave rise to the modern canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
, by virtue of having two gates,
although it was a larger basin capable of holding a number of ships at once.
The Lek was normally at a slightly higher level than the canal leading to Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
and in times of flood was very much higher, so that it would not be possible to let boats enter or leave without flooding the surrounding land. The additional gate limited the amount of water that needed to be let in, so that only the basin needed to be raised.