Complex locks

Man assisted nature by extracting salt from the area, causing the seabed to sink and allowing the water to gain more terrain. From the 11th and 12th century onward dikes were constructed around the sea and halting its growth.

Many plans, no deeds
The closure of the Lauwerszee Sea also took centuries. The first plans were made as early as 1611. After that the idea kept popping up now and again and finally in 1849 the plan took on more definite forms. But it too was never executed. The difference in drainage level between Friesland and Groningen was a serious obstacle.

In the years preceding the Second World War the government attempted to close it off through an employment project, which was to be the answer to the financial crisis. Several plans were drawn up but not a single one of them was executed.

Deltaplan
The flood of 1953 - in which 1836 people in the Netherlands lost their lives - meant the battle for closure was won, though many, including many Zoutkamper fisherman who feared for their means of existence, were against it. 

After the disaster of 1953 a national plan was drawn up to improve safety along the Dutch coastline which led to the Deltawet (Delta Law). There were two options for the Lauwerszee Sea: closure or higher dikes. The latter was cheaper and therefore preferred. This caused massive protests on the Frisian side of the Lauwerszee Sea. An action committee gathered 135,000 signatures in favour of closure and the government caved.