Kreileroord – History in the Wieringermeer

Kreileroord in the Wieringermeer

You can get to know Kreileroord in the Wieringermeer through two questions: What is the landscape history behind the town, and how did its more recent settlement unfold? There are also pointers for walking and cycling that relate to different periods. The town lies at a crossroads of canals and roads. Its history encompasses both older landscape names and the specific beginnings of a young settlement.

Forest, sea, and older names

The name Kreileroord refers to a forest that once stood there. Another historical name appears on nautical charts: “De Kreil” was preserved as the name of a sandbank in the Zuiderzee. The forest reference in the town’s name and the name on the charts are two distinct clues to the area’s past.

The prehistoric Wieringermeer is also part of this timespan. It was a marshland with a large forest, and traces of the Funnel Beaker culture have also been found in its landscape. The story of the Creiler Woud adds a specific event to this prehistory: during the All Saints’ Flood of 1170, the forest was swallowed up when the inland lake Almere broke through and became the open Zuiderzee. Regional landscape history and archaeological traces thus sit alongside the history of individual names.

The beginning of the settlement

The town’s more recent history is precisely dated: on January 21, 1957, the first eleven families moved into their homes on Bollenstraat in Kreileroord. The date, number of families, and street name give this beginning a concrete measure. Compared with the prehistoric and medieval traces in the landscape, the town’s settlement belongs to a much more recent period. Those interested in Kreileroord can distinguish between these layers of time: the prehistory of the Wieringermeer, the historical connections to the forest and the Zuiderzee, and the beginnings of residential life in the town.

Walking: the 2026 edition

The Avond4daagse Wieringermeer is a four-day walking event. The plan for 2026 listed Kreileroord as the starting point, at the square by the MFC / Creilerwoud. Route files for the Kreileroord leg were published for distances of 2.5, 5, and 10 kilometers. The three distances are easy to compare: the shortest and longest differ by 7.5 kilometers, and the 10-kilometer route is four times as long as the 2.5-kilometer route.

The stated starting point applies to the 2026 plan; a different starting village may be designated for later editions. If you are planning a trip around the event, check the date of the relevant edition. This keeps the dated walking plan distinct from Kreileroord’s much older history.

Cycling route through Hollands Kroon Oost

Another option for planning a trip is the cycling route The Story of Hollands Kroon Oost: it includes Den Oever, Kreileroord, and Wieringerwerf. You can start from home or from one of the easily accessible Tourist Transfer Points (TOPs) near the route. Unlike the walking event, which is tied to a specific edition, this route offers two starting options for planning your trip. This helps distinguish the two activities by type and starting point without treating them as the same tour.

A historical leisure-time setting

The harbor of De Oude Zeug is also part of the area’s recorded leisure history. In the 1960s, there was a small beach for swimming there. People could sunbathe in the meadows and on the embankment slope. This period adds another facet from the past to the area’s landscape and settlement history.

Discover more destinations: Wieringerwaard, Hippolytushoef, Winkel, Westerland, Kolhorn, Barsingerhorn

Return to the main travel overview: Hollands Kroon.