The village of Moerdijk is in danger of disappearing. Not by the sea that once lay there. It also does not sink into the swamp where peat cutters later dug up their black gold. The village of Moerdijk is disappearing due to humans. If it were up to the B&W of this municipality, all residents would leave within ten years. The land that is released as a result can be used by the increasingly expanding industry and electricity supplies. This requires loving remembrance of Moerdijk.
On the edge of the Hollands Diep, where Brabant kisses the water, lies the village of Moerdijk with 1130 inhabitants. Small, but with a history that is bigger than most people suspect. For centuries it was a place where water, trade and war met and where Brabant slowly reclaimed the sea.
From uninhabitable to strategic crossing
The name Moerdijk refers to the moer, the peat that used to be here. In the Middle Ages, this area was still largely swampy and uninhabitable. Only when people started mining the peat and building dikes did the first settlements emerge.
The village of Moerdijk itself is relatively young: it only really grew in the 16th and 17th centuries, when shipping became more important. Its location on the Hollands Diep made it a strategic crossing point between North Brabant and Holland.
With the arrival of the ferry between Moerdijk and Willemsdorp in South Holland, the village gained economic importance. Inns, shipyards and traders were established who took advantage of the busy water traffic. The river brought prosperity, but also danger. Floods and dike breaches were the order of the day. The residents fought against the water for centuries, and that has shaped the character of the village: down-to-earth, resilient and tenacious.
Longest bridge in Europe
The real turning point came in 1872, when the first Moerdijk Bridge was opened, then the longest bridge in Europe. The bridge connected Brabant with the Randstad and was a technical tour de force for its time. Suddenly the village was no longer on the edge of the country, but in the middle of the connection between north and south. A second bridge followed in 1936, and later the impressive highway bridge of the A16. The village that was once a ferry stop became a symbol of connection.
During the Second World War, Moerdijk had a hard time. The bridges were of great strategic importance and were bombed several times. In May 1940 and again in 1944 there was fierce fighting in the area. Many houses were destroyed, and the village had to be largely rebuilt after the war.
Village life in the background
In the second half of the twentieth century, the character of Moerdijk changed dramatically. Agricultural life made way for industry, with the construction of the Moerdijk Port and Industrial Estate in the 1960s. This grew into one of the largest industrial ports in the Netherlands, with chemical companies, logistics and transshipment ports.
Although the industrial estate provided employment, it also meant that village life faded into the background. The old village center remained, but was joined by a landscape full of pipes, taps and chimneys.
Piece of old Brabant
Industry and quality of life are increasingly at risk. The risks for residents became very clear on January 5, 2011 when a fire broke out in the afternoon at the Chemie-Pack company, which burned down completely. Large quantities of chemicals were released in a large cloud of smoke that extended over Dordrecht and the surrounding area. At least twenty care workers had to be treated in hospital with health problems. In addition, at least 150 cases are known of other people with complaints after the fire. The total costs are currently estimated at 71 million euros.
Nowadays Moerdijk has several hundred inhabitants. The village is literally in the shadow of the enormous industrial area that bears the same name, but has retained its own character. The tranquility, the view over the water and the memory of centuries of battle against the elements still make it a special place. When you drive over the Moerdijk Bridge, you may think of traffic jams and trucks, but when you turn towards the village, you will discover a piece of old Brabant for which the final signal is about to sound.