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Peatlands Weerribben-Wieden in historic photos

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August 14, 2024

Recently, WUR Library digitised a special collection of historical photographs on peat extraction in the Weerribben-Wieden. Now, you can view the photos in the WUR Image Collections.

Peatlands in the Weerribben-Wieden

The collection of 45 photos of the Weerribben-Wieden show how peat was still extracted in the 1950s in the Weerribben-Wieden in north-west Overijssel, as it had been done since the 17th century. The photos also give an impression of the land use by farmers and their living conditions in the wetland area. The photos were selected by Jan Neefjes of Bureau Overland.

Farmer working with peat
Farmer working with peat

Jan Neefjes and Hans Bleumink used the photos for a report published in 2023: Landschapsbiografie Weerribben-Wieden. You can read the report online.

Stichting voor Bodemkartering

Staring building (StiBoKa) at the Marijkeweg in Wageningen in 1967.
Staring building (StiBoKa) at the Marijkeweg in Wageningen in 1967.

The photos were taken by Stichting voor Bodemkartering (StiBoKa). The institute StiBoKa was founded by C.H. Edelman, professor in soil science in 1945. The StiBoKa moved from Bennekom to the Staring Building in Wageningen in 1967. The photos in the image collection Peatlands in the Weerribben-Wieden are part of the StiBoka archive. This archive contains approximately 12,500 negatives from 1946 to 1992. It is is now part of WUR Library's Special Collections.

Copyrights

The photos from the Image Collection can be downloaded for free. They can be used and distributed for non-commercial use. The Creative Commons license CC BY-NC 4.0 is applicable. Wageningen Research holds the collection's copyrights.

WUR Image Collections

The WUR Image Collections contain annotated photographs, maps, drawings and other images from WUR’s research and education activities. There are now thirty-five collections of photos, drawings, paintings and other images stored in WUR Image Collections. Most of the 70,670 images are publicly available. You can download the images for free. Please read the copyright restrictions for each collection if you want to use the images in a publication. Do you need the originals? Please contact us.

Special Collections

Special Collections is open Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 1 pm and is closed on national holidays. If you'd like to visit the collection in the afternoon or with a group, please e-mail speccoll.library@wur.nl.

Address: Special Collections Reading Room, WUR Library, Wageningen University & Research Forum, Building 102, Droevendaalsesteeg 2, 6706KN Wageningen. Please use the main entrance to the Library on the 2nd floor of the building.

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