40 Years of Flevoland: Almere

In 2026, the province of Flevoland turns 40. And we are celebrating! We look back, and especially forward. The province of Flevoland is characterized by vast open spaces and a rectangular layout. The province consists of two parts: the Noordoostpolder, reclaimed up to the mainland, and the Flevopolder, the largest artificial island in the world. To avoid confusion with the municipality of Noordoostpolder, the Noordoostpolder (the combination of this municipality and the municipality of Urk) is also referred to as Northern Flevoland. This time, Almere, with 232.650 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2026).

Almere (general)

Almere is a city in the province of Flevoland, in the Zuidelijk Flevoland polder. The municipality has 232.650 inhabitants and a total area of 248,77 km², of which 129,19 km² is land and 119,58 km² is water (CBS: January 1, 2026). In terms of population, Almere is the seventh largest municipality in the Netherlands. On the land side, Almere borders the municipalities of Lelystad and Zeewolde. On the water side, Almere lies on the Gooimeer, IJmeer, and Markermeer. The city lies below sea level (2 to 5 meters), and approximately the same amount below the level of the aforementioned lakes.

Almere was established in the last quarter of the twentieth century as the second largest city in the province of Flevoland. The oldest part of Almere is Almere Haven; the first homes were completed there on November 30, 1976. Almere has far surpassed Lelystad, the capital of Flevoland, with over 85.000 inhabitants (2025) in population. After 25 years, in 2001, Almere already had 150.000 inhabitants. In 2017, the city reached a population of 200.000.

Name Almere

The city of Almere is named after the body of water called Almere. In the Middle Ages, this was a lake or inland sea, approximately where the IJsselmeer is located today. According to some, 'Almere' is a Germanic name for 'large lake', where the word part 'mere' is a Middle Dutch form of the modern 'meer'. The Germanic 'ala' is closely related to our word 'al', which means 'whole' (compare: 'een en al', 'geheel en al'), and in compound words 'large' or 'very'.

The 'Aelmere' is first mentioned in a hagiography of the Anglo-Saxon bishop Boniface . It states there that in 753, this Irish bishop sailed from the Rhine across a body of water called 'Aelmere' towards present-day Friesland. Around 1100, a chronicle refers to the island of Urk as 'Urk in the lake Almere'.

The National Service for the IJsselmeer Polders ( RIJP ) initially used the working name 'Zuidweststad' for the new city. In 1970, the name Almere was chosen, at which point alternative names ('IJmeerstad', 'IJdrecht', 'Nieuw Amsterdam', 'Eemmeerstad', and 'Flevostad') were rejected. The new name was used for the first time in 1971.

History

Originally, the IJsselmeer polders were intended primarily, or even exclusively, as agricultural land. After the Second World War, however, it became clear that the rapidly growing population of Amsterdam in particular would need to be partially housed elsewhere. Consequently, two cities were designed in the polders of Eastern and Southern Flevoland. The city in Eastern Flevoland became Lelystad. The city in Southern Flevoland was initially called Zuidweststad in the first sketches, but was renamed Almere in the 1970s, after the early medieval name of the Zuiderzee.

(Flag of Almere: The colors of the municipal flag of Almere, a design by the OL ZIJP itself, are derived from the coat of arms. However, the black has been replaced by yellow, as a translation of the golden background of the cog ship in the escutcheon of the coat of arms. The flag features the regional characteristics of the IJsselmeer area. That is to say, a cross-shaped pattern with alternating color areas. The flag designs of the Wieringermeer, Noordoostpolder, Marken, Wieringen, and Lelystad also have this pattern. The official description of the Almere flag reads as follows:

“a white-blue hoist and a red-yellow fly, with in the upper neck on the white a black cog with a blue sail, on which a white lily and coming from four waves, transversely barred of four pieces, white and blue, the whole figure equal to 3/10 of the flag height”.)

The first steps towards the construction of Almere were taken on September 30, 1975, and the first homes in Almere were completed in November 1976. At that time, the city was still directly administered by the Public Body Southern IJsselmeer Polders (Z.IJ.P.), headed by a landdrost. The nationally prescribed construction program for the new city consisted of 70 to 80 percent social housing. The Almere Housing Foundation (SWA), a division of the National Service for the IJsselmeer Polders, was established in 1975 as the client and planner of housing construction in Almere.

In late 1979, the General Housing Association Almere was founded on the initiative of District Administrator Han Lammers. The idea was that this association would take over ownership and management of the SWA's social rental housing and would henceforth be responsible for the remaining construction of social rental housing in Almere. Completely contrary to the spirit of the times, the Christian housing association Goedestede was founded almost simultaneously by religious residents of Almere who hoped to encourage an increase in membership for the new local Protestant church community in Almere.

As of 1984, what remained of the OL ZIJP (except for the Markermeer) was divided by law into the municipalities of Almere and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere considers itself the legal successor of the Public Body and also bears the same coat of arms. Until 1986, the establishment of the province of Flevoland, the Ministry of the Interior performed the provincial duties.

Originally, Almere was conceived as a city with multiple centers. This policy has been partially abandoned. Almere Buiten and Almere Stad have grown together via the Tussen de Vaarten neighborhood. A clearly changed housing policy is visible between the oldest and the newest residential areas; in the 1970s, this focused on uniformity and functionality, while in the 1990s, the trend became to build more exclusive and striking homes, for example in the Regenboogbuurt and Eilandenbuurt.

Netherlands (2011): Beautiful Netherlands – Almere.

The center of Almere Stad, the largest district, subsequently expanded significantly. On April 1, 2006, the first phase of the newly built Citymall Almere city center was completed. Its most prominent building is the Citadel, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Christian de Portzamparc. In early 2007, the new Kunstlinie was put into use. The striking building, situated on the Weerwater, was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on June 8, 2007.

Almere was established in the last quarter of the twentieth century as the second largest city in the province of Flevoland. The oldest part of Almere is Almere Haven; the first homes were completed there in 1976. Almere has far surpassed Lelystad, the capital of Flevoland, with over 80.000 inhabitants (2021) in terms of population. After 25 years, in 2001, Almere already had 150.000 inhabitants. In 2017, the city reached a population of 200.000, making it the eighth largest municipality in the country by population. The city is expected to grow to a population of 350.000.

Flevo Line

The Weesp – Lelystad railway line, generally referred to as the Flevolijn, is a railway line through the Dutch Flevopolder. The line connects the old land from Weesp via Almere to Lelystad. In 2003, the Flevolijn also gained a direct connection to Utrecht via the connecting Gooiboog. Since 2012, the line has seven stations: Almere Poort, Almere Muziekwijk, Almere Centrum, Almere Parkwijk, Almere Buiten, Almere Oostvaarders, and Lelystad Centrum. Since the extension to Zwolle, the entire network can be considered a single railway line; when distinguishing routes between the Randstad and Zwolle, one speaks more often of the Hanzelijn than the Flevolijn. However, the frequency of trains on the Flevolijn is higher.

History

Plans for the then-named Almere Line were discussed in the House of Representatives, among others. At that time, there were still various variants for the location.

Route variants for the Almere Line. Source: Government / Wikipedia.

Construction of the Flevo Line began in 1980. The first section between Weesp and Almere Buiten was officially opened on May 29, 1987. At the same time, the stations Almere Muziekwijk, Almere CS (later renamed Almere Centrum ), and Almere Buiten were opened. The line with these stations was included in the timetable the following day.

Platform canopy Almere Centrum station. Photo: Maurits80 / Wikipedia.

On May 28, 1988, Almere Buiten – Lelystad Centrum was officially opened together with Lelystad Centrum station. The following day, this section also entered service. Originally, the intention was to construct the Flevo Line straight through the Oostvaardersplassen. Following protests from the nature conservation movement, Minister Zeevalking decided in 1981 to reroute the line. This diversion was dubbed the 'bathtub route'.

On February 1, 1996, Almere Parkwijk station (between Centrum and Buiten) and the Almere Strand event station were opened. The latter closed again in October 2012 due to the opening of Almere Poort later that year. As of December 12, 2004, Almere Oostvaarders station was also served. This station had been in a state of rough construction since the very beginning of the Flevolijn.

Hanze Line

Under the name Hanzelijn, the Flevolijn was extended eastward into the mainland, towards Kampen and Zwolle, effective with the 2013 timetable. This line was officially opened on December 6, 2012, and put into service three days later. Since then, through trains to Zwolle, Groningen, and Leeuwarden have been running on the Flevolijn. Additionally, Almere Poort station was opened on the Flevolijn on December 9, 2012, while the Hanzelijn gained two new stations, Dronten and Kampen Zuid. The opening date of Lelystad Zuid station, which is currently in a rough construction phase, depends on development and the construction of houses in the surrounding area.