Flevoland offers space. Space for culture. Space for modern and large-scale landscape artworks, but also for museums where you can discover what was here before Flevoland existed, how the reclamation took place and how the polder mentality came about. And don't forget our festivals: grand and inspiring. Because although we have our feet in the clay here, at the same time we know that in Flevoland the sky is the limit.
Although the province of Flevoland has only existed since 1986, it still has a rich cultural history. A great example is the former island of Urk, which continues to do its own thing undisturbed despite the reclamation around it. Walking around Urk, you might imagine yourself in an open-air museum, so different is this place from the rest of Flevoland. Be sure to stop by Museum Het Oude Raadhuis, where you can learn all about Urk's history and fishing. Also in Museum Schokland on the former island of Schokland are remnants of ancient habitation, both in the form of archaeological finds and the remains of the Schokker people, who were forced to leave the island after yet another flood in the 19th century. If you want to know even more about the former Zuiderzee and the reclamation to make room for Flevoland, head to Batavialand in Lelystad, which has the slogan ‘discover the land of water’ for good reason.
Once you have drained whole swathes of land, what do you do with it? Well, fill it with buildings and people, among other things. In the village of Nagele, they did this in a very special way: here, a group of architects were given free rein to design the entire village, including the green plan. This resulted in a truly unique village, where all the roofs are flat. In Museum Nagele, you are led step by step through the development and layout of the village, while in Huis Polman you can see how the polder pioneers used to live here. Of a completely different order is the hypermodern Almere, a city whose construction only started in 1975. No wonder you find so many hypermodern buildings there.and you can do several beautiful architecture walks.
Besides museums that tell the story of Flevoland, we have plenty of other museums, of course. Consider Aviation Museum Aviodrome, which is also very popular among children. With more than 100 planes, you won't be bored easily. Moreover, you can do fun activities yourself here, such as taking a flight in a flight simulator. Are you interested in old-fashioned radios, machines or cars? Then take a look at the Retro Audio Museum in Lelystad or the Mechanical Heritage Centre in Dronten. Also back to the old days, but very different is the ‘village’ of Swifterkamp, a small open-air museum with two farms, a hunter-gatherer hut and three outbuildings, which exudes the atmosphere of days gone by.
Is art more your thing? For that too, there are several places to go in Flevoland, such as Kunstpaviljoen M. and the Dutch Digital Art Museum, both in Almere. Each offers something very different: at Kunstpaviljoen M., the immersive artworks tend to be large and often fill the whole room, while the Dutch Digital Art Museum gives you a glimpse into digital art. On the former island of Urk, in Beleefhuis ‘Ut Kunstige Vissers Ussien’ you will find very different art: the most beautiful paintings, postcards and drawings by artist Janneke van Slooten. Nice detail: in the air-raid shelter of this building, you can still find an old water well and in the attic you will find an authentic box bed and you can learn how to fine nets. You can also buy or borrow art at various other locations, such as Aan de Amstel in Biddinghuizen, the Kunstcollectief in Dronten and the kunstuitleen of Cultuurbedrijf Noordoostpolder.
Check out all of our museums
Flevoland is so vast that there is more than enough room for art in the outdoor space as well. And we are not talking about just any statue or other small work of art, but real works of landscape art. These are not only very large objects, but also the whole environment is part of the artwork and plays a major role in it. For example, how can the Crouching Man stare out over the water if it is not on the edge of the Markermeer. Or how could Deltawerk// come into being if there was not first a gigantic basin, 200 metres long, testing how the Delta Works would react to certain natural forces? And those are just two examples. In total, there are ten landscape artworks in Flevoland. Nowhere else in the world will you find so many landscape artworks as close together as here. Come take a look at one or more of Flevoland's impressive landscape artworks. You will find them scattered across the landscape and they are accessible free of charge.
Check out all of our land art
Of course you know Lowlands festival. And you've probably heard of Defqon1. Apart from these big festivals, Flevoland also has room for many smaller festivals. Just think of the cultural festivals Wijland, Free Festival Almere, Festival LOF and the poetry festival Sunsation. Would you rather dance barefoot in the sand? Then, of course, visit beach festival ZAND in Almere Strand. And in the self-proclaimed potato capital of the world, Emmeloord, you are welcome every September to join the Pieperfestival: fun activities and free chips during the day and the hippest live music in the marquee at night.
Flevolanders are innovative. They like to make use of the opportunities offered by this man-made land. For instance, a number of theatre companies organise beautiful site-specific theatre, where the environment is the inspiration for the performance. In Almere, you can visit the theatre location of Vis à Vis every year throughout the summer, which puts on grand and mostly sold-out theatre performances, even with a dinner buffet beforehand if desired. Pioneers of the Future also organise performances on location, but always somewhere else and usually with sustainability as the theme: making soup from ‘ugly vegetables’ and distributing it in the centre of Emmeloord or a dinner of sustainable ingredients on a boat off the coast of the IJsselmeer.
Erfgoedpark Batavialand
Oostvaardersdijk 113
8242 PA LELYSTAD
Beleefhuis 'Ut Kunstige Vissers Ussien'
Wijk 4 91
8321 GH Urk
Uiterdijkenweg 48
8316 RS Marknesse
AGORA Theater & Congrescentrum
Agorabaan 12
8224 JS LELYSTAD
Luchtvaartmuseum Aviodrome
Pelikaanweg 50
8218 PG Lelystad
Cultuurbedrijf Noordoostpolder
Harmen Visserplein 2
8302 BW Emmeloord
