News
New online exhibition: Dutch Landscape Designed, 1946 -1954
The exhibition Dutch Landscape Designed is on display at the Library's Special Collections until 14 April. It has drawn visitors from all over the country and we've received enthusiastic feedback. If you can't visit the exhibition on campus, we have good news! You can now visit the exhibition Dutch Landscape Designed online.
Designing the Dutch landscape
You come across trees and shrubs everywhere you go in the Netherlands, but few people realise that all this greenery forms part of a grand plan. From 1946 to 1976, a small group of landscape designers created landscape plans for over 450 land consolidation projects in the Netherlands. Together, these plans cover almost 70% of the Netherlands.
Now that the world is focused on nitrogen reduction, climate change and the transition of rural areas, the discussion on a new landscape design for the Netherlands is highly topical.
Online exhibition Dutch Landscape Designed
The online exhibition focuses on the early years of the land consolidation, from 1946 until 1954. It reveals how the disciplines of the then Agricultural College (Landbouwhogeschool), such as soil science, geology, geography, forestry, land and water management, landscape gardening and botany, were the basis for the creation of the ‘Dutch Landscape Plan’.
Seventy years later, these landscape types are still recognisable in our landscape. A good example is the Binnenveld nature area close to the Wageningen campus.
The online exhibition shows landscape plans and photos that were on display in the exhibition at the Forum Library, but new photos have also been added to the online exhibition.
Dutch Landscape Plan
The exhibition both on-site and online was developed together with guest curator Henk van Blerck. Henk van Blerck recently completed his PhD with the thesis ‘Landschapsplan Nederland’. A printed version of the thesis is available in Dutch in the Forum Library. His work is primarily based on the Staatsbosbeheer collection.
Information on the land consolidation projects and the landscape plans from the Staatsbosbeheer collection can also be found in the database TUIN.
Special Collections Opening Hours
The exhibition at the Library's Special Collections runs until 14 April 2023.
Do you want to visit the exhibition on campus? Special Collections is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 1 pm. If you would like to visit the collection in the afternoon or with a group, please send an e-mail to speccoll.library@wur.nl.
Address: Special Collections Reading Room, WUR Library, Wageningen University & Research Forum, Building 102, Droevendaalsesteeg 2, 6708 PB Wageningen. Please use the main entrance to the Library on the 2nd floor of the building.