Appeltern – De Tuut Steam Pumping Station

De Tuut Steam Pumping Station in Appeltern is an industrial monument dating from 1918, and the only working example of its kind in Gelderland. It has been an important weapon in the province’s fight against water since the Middle Ages a fight that was started officially by Count Reinoud of Guelders in 1321. It is now open to visitors several times a year.

Maas and Waal
In 1321, Count Reinoud of Guelders compelled the inhabitants of the villages in the region around the Maas and Waal rivers to cooperate in their fight against the water. They built dikes and dug two major watercourses all the way across the region from east to west. One of these was the Nieuwe Wetering Canal (literally: New Watercourse), which still drains into the river Maas at Appeltern. The various villages along the polders of the watercourse often argued about who should be the first to discharge excess water, but such disputes put the general public in danger and the polder district authorities were given the power to intervene.

Subsidence
Although the dikes held back the water as they were supposed to, they also had a negative effect on their surroundings. The clay subsoil inland started to subside while the water levels in the rivers kept rising. This caused increased pressure on the dikes and more severe flooding than ever before. In fact, since the first dikes were built, the area around the Maas and Waal rivers has been ravaged by floods no fewer than 125 times. This has left a scarring mark on the region’s landscape.

Steam pumping station
Drastic improvements were needed and in 1918, the Van Hasselt and De Koning firm (which has since become the Haskoning engineering company) built the De Tuut Steam Pumping Station. In 1968, the steam pumping engine was decommissioned and replaced by a diesel-powered engine. The dilapidated buildings were restored in the 1980s by Stichting Baet en Borgh (the Baet and Borgh Foundation), who managed to get the pump working again. Now the pumping station is brought into action for visitors several times a year, and there are guided tours, a Steam Café and many other activities to enjoy.