Panel 4 - Nesserlaan
The Bovenkerkerpolder was excavated for peat during the 17th and 18th centuries. Dried peat becomes turf, an important fuel, especially in high demand by the growing cities of Amsterdam and Haarlem. During the excavation, the shareholders obligated themselves to drain the polder. This began in 1764. Five years later, the fertile soil was ready to be used as arable land. Nowadays, the Bovenkerkerpolder is an important breeding ground for meadow birds. From March to June, farmers raise the water level in the polder ditches. The godwit, teal, and redshank prefer to breed in the wet areas with herb-rich grassland. Cutting the grass only happens after the chicks have flown the nest.
Nesserlaan
After the drainage, two interse…
The Bovenkerkerpolder was excavated for peat during the 17th and 18th centuries. Dried peat becomes turf, an important fuel, especially in high demand by the growing cities of Amsterdam and Haarlem. During the excavation, the shareholders obligated themselves to drain the polder. This began in 1764. Five years later, the fertile soil was ready to be used as arable land. Nowadays, the Bovenkerkerpolder is an important breeding ground for meadow birds. From March to June, farmers raise the water level in the polder ditches. The godwit, teal, and redshank prefer to breed in the wet areas with herb-rich grassland. Cutting the grass only happens after the chicks have flown the nest.
Nesserlaan
After the drainage, two intersecting roads were built in the polder: the Middenweg (the current cycling path through the polder) and the Kruislaan, now called Nesserlaan. Along the Middenweg, there was a farm called Middenhoeve or Middenhoven in 1798. The later residential area was named after it. Along the Nesserlaan, there is a war memorial dedicated to Antoon de Lange. At the end of World War II, he was a member of the Dutch Resistance. When he chased a few fleeing Dutch SS officers on May 7, 1945, he was fatally shot. The primary school of Nes aan de Amstel has adopted the monument.
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