Incorporation into the Noordoostpolder

When the Zuyder Zee was completely closed off in 1930 and the work to reclaim part of the resulting IJsselmeer had begun, it was clear that the remaining islands would be incorporated into the new polder (the island of Marken was eventually excluded). The islands of Urk and Schokland would thus become part of the Noordoostpolder (NOP). While many people still lived in Urk, Schokland’s population was minimal. When the polder was drained and planned out, Schokland was ‘spared’, remaining visible as a long, low ridge in the big new landscape. The polder's very orderly, geometrical parcelisation did not extend into the former island, which makes Schokland very easy to recognise both on the ground and from the air. Some villages in the Noordoostpolder have been given the names of villages on the former island.