Old Wetering, Langeraar and Aalsmeer

Aalsmeer became world famous for the large amount of flowers that are concentrated in and around the town. For sixty years a large flower parade took place here on the first Saturday of September (the last in 2007) and the largest flower auction in the world is also an important tourist attraction. The area used to consist of peat soils, from which a lot of peat is extracted. Due to this large-scale reclamation, little space was left for agricultural land, so from the fifteenth century the inhabitants of Aalsmeer also focused on fishing. The little farmland that remained was intensively worked. Trees and shrubs were grown for sale to wealthy merchants who wanted to plant them in their country houses, and strawberry cultivation was popular. To reclaim territory, peat lakes were pumped dry from the seventeenth century and larger lakes, such as the Haarlemmermeer, were also drained. As a result, opportunities for fishing became less and people increasingly switched to growing trees, plants and fruit. This was the very beginning of current floriculture. The Fort near Kudelstaart was built at the end of the nineteenth century. The first earthworks took place in 1890 and the fortress itself was built in 1905 and 1906. In appearance, the fort has been well preserved; one of the two fort guard houses and the mountain shed are still there. The moat surrounds the fortress unchanged, although the access bridge has been replaced by two dams. The original situation around the fort has also been preserved; the surrounding water and infrastructure are virtually unchanged. The rest of the polder has now been set up for greenhouse cultivation, which puts the fort in greater contrast to its surroundings.