Nature and city, in Lelystad

When the Zuiderzee was drained, the Netherlands gained an extra province that is about five meters below sea level: Flevoland. The province is mainly characterized by large open spaces and a tight layout, which makes the youngest province of the Netherlands"more modern\\\" feel than the other provinces. Flevoland consists of two parts, the Noordoostpolder and the largest artificial island in the world, the Flevopolder. The capital of Flevoland is of course Lelystad. The first residents came here around 1967 and in 1980 Lelystad officially became a municipality. Lelystad is named after Cornelis Lely, the spiritual father of the Zuiderzee Works. In the 1980s, Lelystad had to contend with a considerable exodus when Almere was built, which was more favorable compared to Amsterdam and Het Gooi. A period of vacancy and impoverishment followed, until things changed in the 1990s. The city has been growing again in recent years and is expanding considerably with new construction. Lelystad has a number of beautiful sights such as a replica of the VOC ship Batavia, Batavia Stad, Batavia harbour, aviation center Aviodrome, Nature Park Lelystad and the column of Lely. Despite the fact that it is a young forest, the southern Hollandse Hout is wonderful to cycle through. This is how nature and built-up areas alternate pleasantly during this cycling tour!