Construction of the Polder Tower

History

Already at an early stage of planning, it was decided that a tall tower would be built on the central square of Emmeloord, in the heart of the polder. This tower was to serve as a beacon in the wide surroundings and as a symbol of the unity of the polder. It was not to be a church tower, because none of the churches were allowed to dominate the others.

A water tower was necessary for the water supply of the polder, and so the idea arose to dress it up as a polder tower. In December 1950, the water supply company of the province of Overijssel launched a public idea competition for the tower. The assignment was to design a water tower with a carillon and an observation deck. Among other things, it was prescribed that the tower should symbolize the unity of the polder and emphasize Emmeloord as its center. Ultimately, the design Utillis by the Amsterdam architect H. van Gent was chosen for further development, with support from J.W.H.C. Pot. Construction of the tower started on June 12, 1957, and on June 20, 1959, the tower was officially put into use.

Center point

For a long time, it was said about the tower that it was built exactly in the middle of the Noordoostpolder. The local government was also convinced of this. In 2022, however, after calculation by the municipality's geographical analyst, it turned out that the geographical center of the polder is 1200 meters east of the tower, near the festival grounds on Kamperweg.

Data

The tower is 65.3 meters high and 70.5 meters with the weathervane.
The visitor platform is at a height of 43.4 meters.
The width of the Polder Tower is 14.0 m at the base and 13.4 meters at the visitor platform.
The tower has a staircase with 243 steps.
The water storage capacity was 1850 cubic meters.

Incorporated into the tower: