| From the middleages on there was an continual conflict between the region around Ouderkerk, named Amstelland, in the county of Holland, and certain polders in the diocese of Utrecht. Because of difficulties with their drainage some polders, in the Heicop-region, were allowed by the Bishop to drain into the river Vecht. Later, in 1413, neighboring polders, Bijleveld and others, bought the right to drain on the river Amstel, in Holland. Therefore Bijleveld people had to dig a long canal, by spade and wheel-barrow. Draining on the Vecht became increasing difficult, so people from Heicop clandestinely tried to short-cut their drainage system to that from Bijleveld. That resulted in a struggle for many years, in which Holland and Bijleveld constructed a number of dams which were successively destroyed by those from Heicop.
In the early twenties of the 16th century Jan Benningh decides that this had to come to an end. He was sheriff in Amsterdam, member of the Court of Holland and large owner in the region. He constructed three dams at or near the border between Holland and Utrecht, which locked the flooding from the latter. That provoked Utrecht to accept a resolution in which Amstelland was given the right to keep their borders closed for foreign water. Two of the dams were then removed. The most important of them, the Benninghdam, with the Benningbridge, in Ouderkerk was maintained until 1649.
Then it was removed and a new leaf-bridge was erected over the Bullewijk.
In 1996, when a new quarter, named Benning, was build in Ouderkerk a new bridge was constructed near the site of the former Benninghdam. As a matter of course this bridge was named Jan Benningh-bridge. |
part of the exposition
part of the exposition
part of the exposition
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at the opening of the exposition
.JPG)
at the opening of the exposition
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