Paveijen, situated in the heart of Culemborgse Veld, has always been a boggy area. Flooding made it virtually uninhabitable but perfectly suitable as part of the inundation line. Visit this region and enjoy its stunning natural scenery.
De Heren van Paveijen, the Gentlemen of Paveijen
In the Middle Ages, a small settlement was founded in Paveijen on a narrow alluvial ridge which meandered through the boggy low-level basin. But flooding in the area was so extensive, that the inhabitants moved away. The land was subsequently used for wicker cultivation and duck hunting. There are stories of spooky goings-on with will-o’-the-wisps floating above Paveijen at night. These are the inconsolably Heren van Paveijen, the Gentlemen of Paveijen, who haunt the spot where their hamlet was extinguished like a nightlight.
Hollandse Waterlinie, the Dutch Inundation Line
Paveijen was part of the Rietveld polder. The area was flooded by opening the sluice near Werk aan het Spoel, with water entering via an inundation canal and the Oude Vliet stream.
Opening up of the area
Dutch Water Authority Rivierenland is responsible for water storage and nature management in the Paveijen region. Cultural history plays a major part in this, with watercourses being fitted in, for instance, to a plan inspired by the latticework of elongated mounds and channels used to develop marshlands many centuries ago.
