Sights Buitenkaag

In Buitenkaag you will find many historical and interesting sights. Below is a summary.

 

Sights Buitenkaag, the pearl of the Haarlemmermeer

Buitenkaag is a village located on the Kagerplassen in the southernmost point of the Haarlemmermeerpolder. From Buitenkaag you can take the ferry to Kaageiland.

De Leeghwater

The former steam pumping station "De Leeghwater" (see photo above) is the center of the village. This beautiful national monument tells a piece of the history of the 'Haarlemmermeer' polder. The Leeghwater is the oldest (1848) but, together with the De Cruquius and De Lijnden pumping stations, it turned "the" Haarlemmermeer into "the" Haarlemmermeer. The Leeghwater was the first large pumping station to be used for drainage. The Leeghwater building still houses two large diesels, each driving a water pump. If necessary, they help to bring the surface water level of "the" Haarlemmermeer to the desired level. However, water is often 'let in' at the Leeghwater and 'released' again at the Lijnden. This means that the Haarlemmermeer is refreshed in terms of water: salts and other minerals are drained to the sea and the quality of the water in the polder remains high: one of the tasks of the manager of our water, the Rijnland Water Board. The pumping station is named after Jan Adriaanszoon Leeghwater. Leeghwater was one of the first to have plans for the reclamation of the Haarlemmermeerpolder. A statue of Leeghwater has also been placed next to the pumping station in the park.

The area around the pumping station has a beautiful view of the Kagerplassen, Kaag, Faljeril, Ringvaart and the ferry.


Daggelderswoningen (Daily allowance housing)


On the edge of the polder, on the ringvaart dike, houses were built for the workers (also called polder boys) who made the development of the Haarlemmermeer possible. Nowadays, such an old dike house is the home of one - and modern in size, therefore small - family. In the past, two families lived under that tiny roof, and not of the mini size that we consider normal today.

H. Joannes Evangelist (Saint John Evangelist)


The Roman Catholic church, which is dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, is of a significantly later date than previous workers' houses. However, the church and parsonage are on the list of municipal monuments. The church and the parsonage, which were built just before the Second World War, are a defining element in the municipality and certainly in the southern part of the Haarlemmermeer.

 

The Maypole


Since May 2003, a so-called Maypole has been placed in Buitenkaag.

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