Lelystad
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City and Municipality
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Aerial view of the city
Zuil van Lely in the city center
Batavia Stad
Replica of the Batavia
Bataviahaven | |
Flag 
Coat of arms | |
Location in Flevoland
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  Lelystad Location within the Netherlands Show map of Flevoland Lelystad Location within Europe Show map of Netherlands Lelystad Lelystad (Europe) Show map of Europe | |
| Coordinates: 52°30′N 5°29′E / 52.500°N 5.483°E / 52.500; 5.483 | |
| Country |  Netherlands |
| Province |  Flevoland |
| Region | Amsterdam metropolitan area |
| Established | 1 January 1967 |
| Government | |
| • Body | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Henry Meijdam (VVD) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 765.45 km2 (295.54 sq mi) |
| • Land | 230.32 km2 (88.93 sq mi) |
| • Water | 535.13 km2 (206.61 sq mi) |
| Elevation | −3 m (−10 ft) |
| Population
(January 2021)[4]
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| • Total | 79,811 |
| • Density | 347/km2 (900/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postcode |
8200–8249
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| Area code | 0320 |
| Website | www |
Lelystad (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈleːlistɑt] ⓘ) is a Dutch municipality and the capital city of the provinceofFlevoland in the central Netherlands. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdijk that made the reclamation possible. Lelystad is situated approximately three metres (10 feet) below sea level.
Lelystad is built on the seabed of the former Zuiderzee. About 6,500 years ago, this wetland was above high tide level and inhabited; the Netherlands have steadily subsided since. Near Lelystad at Swifterbant, the oldest human skeletons in Western Europe were discovered. Due to rising water levels and storms, the peatlands were washed away, and the Lacus Flevo (in Roman times) grew to be the Almere (Middle Ages) and became the Zuiderzee. The Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) was the main transport route from Amsterdam to the North Sea and the Hanseatic League cities. Due to the many shipwrecks in Flevoland, Lelystad now houses the National Centre for Maritime History, with a museum and the shipyard that has built the Batavia replica.
After the Second World War the Zuiderzee Works continued, constructing the polder of Eastern Flevoland. In 1950 work commenced on several construction islands in the middle of the IJsselmeer. Lelystad-Haven was the largest island, and its wooden barracks housed a community of dyke-builders. In 1955 they reached the mainland, which made it possible to drive to Lelystad by car. One of the three pumping stations, which drained the polder in June 1957, was the diesel-powered Wortman in Lelystad-Haven. Until 1967 the only inhabitants of Lelystad were technical engineers and laborers and superintendents, living on the former construction island.
Lelystad has a large population of Surinamese origin (5,225); most residents of a non-Western background live in the east of the city.[6] Lelystad also has significant Moroccan (2,615) and Turkish (2,278) communities, most of whom reside in the northeastern part of the city.[5][6] There were 2,059 residents with an Antillean background.[5]
| Climate data for Lelystad (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1990−present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) |
18.8 (65.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
29.6 (85.3) |
32.2 (90.0) |
33.1 (91.6) |
37.5 (99.5) |
34.7 (94.5) |
32.0 (89.6) |
26.0 (78.8) |
19.9 (67.8) |
14.6 (58.3) |
37.5 (99.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 5.7 (42.3) |
6.5 (43.7) |
10.0 (50.0) |
14.4 (57.9) |
18.0 (64.4) |
20.4 (68.7) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.5 (72.5) |
19.1 (66.4) |
14.4 (57.9) |
9.5 (49.1) |
6.2 (43.2) |
14.1 (57.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 3.2 (37.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
6.0 (42.8) |
9.5 (49.1) |
13.2 (55.8) |
15.8 (60.4) |
17.8 (64.0) |
17.6 (63.7) |
14.6 (58.3) |
10.7 (51.3) |
6.8 (44.2) |
3.9 (39.0) |
10.2 (50.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) |
0.4 (32.7) |
2.0 (35.6) |
4.3 (39.7) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.8 (51.4) |
12.7 (54.9) |
12.4 (54.3) |
10.1 (50.2) |
6.9 (44.4) |
3.9 (39.0) |
1.4 (34.5) |
6.1 (43.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −16.6 (2.1) |
−22.9 (−9.2) |
−17.8 (0.0) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
1.8 (35.2) |
5.0 (41.0) |
4.2 (39.6) |
2.4 (36.3) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
−16.9 (1.6) |
−22.9 (−9.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 67.7 (2.67) |
57.2 (2.25) |
55.1 (2.17) |
42.3 (1.67) |
57.2 (2.25) |
67.0 (2.64) |
91.4 (3.60) |
92.1 (3.63) |
74.2 (2.92) |
76.3 (3.00) |
69.7 (2.74) |
73.9 (2.91) |
824.1 (32.44) |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 88.9 | 86.5 | 82.0 | 76.1 | 75.3 | 78.0 | 79.6 | 80.8 | 84.4 | 87.3 | 90.4 | 90.5 | 83.3 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 66.6 | 95.6 | 146.2 | 194.5 | 227.1 | 213.3 | 222.5 | 200.9 | 156.6 | 122.0 | 68.8 | 57.0 | 1,771.1 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 25.9 | 34.1 | 39.4 | 46.6 | 46.6 | 42.5 | 44.1 | 44.0 | 41.0 | 36.9 | 26.0 | 23.7 | 37.6 |
| Source: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute[7][8] | |||||||||||||
Lelystad is the largest municipality in the Netherlands in area, but a large part of that area is water: Markermeer and IJsselmeer. Another major area is the internationally famous nature park of Oostvaardersplassen, which arose naturally when the polder of South Flevoland was drained. Lelystad is also surrounded by a square of woodlands and parks and flat farmland. The importance of the landscape and sky is emphasized by several pieces of land art: engineers' work and works such as the Observatorium by Robert Morris (see below).
The artificial islands of Marker Wadden lie immediately to the northwest of Lelystad. Construction started in 2016, and the first islands have already become important wildlife sites, with many species of birds coming to the islands during the breeding season.
Lelystad has several tourist attractions, including:
Lelystad hosts many one-day events like the Lelystad Airshow, the Water Festival, the National Old Timer Day, Lelystad Speedway, Architecture day and several sports events. On the Midland Circuit many motor, kart and stock car racing events and several autoclub meetings are held. On the coast there are several marinas.
Lelystad can be reached by air, water, and land.
Lelystad Airport is the biggest general aviation airport in the Netherlands. It is owned wholly by Schiphol Group. Lelystad Airport has undergone major expansion, including the construction of a passenger terminal for commercial flights, as well as an extension of the runway. The original plan for this airport was to become the main gateway for passengers into the country, to alleviate some of the pressure from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. In turn, Schiphol would be able to focus on its role as international hub for lay-overs. Although the expansion of Lelystad Airport has been finished, the airport has not yet opened for passengers due to various political reasons. As of 2022, the government has decided to delay the opening of the terminals with at least two years, and even then the opening will not be guaranteed.[9]
Lelystad has a small inland port, several marinas, and a canal system which also functions to aid in managing the water levels in the rest of the polder. The canal system connects to the Markermeer with a lock to the southwest of Lelystad, and connects the city and its industrial areas to all other towns and their respective industrial areas in the polder.
the Weesp–Lelystad railway (Flevolijn) extends south from Lelystad Centrum railway station and connects the city with Almere, and to the Randstad region beyond. The Lelystad–Zwolle railway (Hanzelijn) extends north from Lelystad and connects it with Dronten, Kampen and Zwolle.
The A6 motorway runs along Lelystad on the eastern side of the city. There are three on-ramps connecting this motorway to Lelystad, allowing traffic to travel northbound to Emmeloord and the province of Friesland, or southbound to Almere and the Randstad region.
The N302 provincial road connects Lelystad to the south-east with Harderwijk and the province of Gelderland beyond. The N307 connects Lelystad across the HoutribdijktoEnkhuizen and the province of North Holland beyond, and to Dronten and beyond that to Kampen in the province of Overijssel. The N309 connects Lelystad to Dronten and beyond that to Elburg in the province of Gelderland.
The honeycomb grid in the arms of Lelystad represents the dykes, built with six-edged concrete or basalt blocks. The colour gold indicates the high costs of the project of making the polder. The centre shield is the arms of engineer Cornelis Lely. The sealions reflect the history of the land.
In the flag, the fleur-de-lis (lily) again takes a central point, referring to the name Lely. The yellow background reflects the precious land, and the blue lines the dykes and waterways. The flag of the province is similarly adorned with the fleur-de-lis to commemorate Lely.
Lelystad maintains international relations with the Suriname twin cityofLelydorp.
Lelystad travel guide from Wikivoyage
Places adjacent to Lelystad
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Municipalities of Flevoland
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