🐟 Lights On #4 — Urk: The Island That Stopped Being an Island ⚓

#### *Urk · Saturday 12 September 2026 · 15:00* **A fishing village where the sea was taken away. For the final chapter of our summer lighthouse series, we're going somewhere genuinely strange: a place that was an island until 1942, and then simply… wasn't anymore.** 🌊 **Urk** sat out in the Zuiderzee for centuries — isolated, self-contained, fiercely its own. Then the water was drained, the land rose around it, and Urk found itself stranded in the middle of a brand-new province. It's our first ever event in **Flevoland**, and honestly, there's nowhere quite like it in the Netherlands. *** ##### 🚶 The walk We'll walk through the harbour and past the **visafslag** (the fish auction), because you can't understand Urk without understanding fish: for centuries this community has lived from fishing, and it's genuinely in the blood here. From there we follow the IJsselmeer, past the shipyards and the **Wonder van Urk**, until we reach the lighthouse — and then wander on through the village's beautiful monuments, where I'll tell you about the **local myths and legends** this fishing village is so rich in. 🧜 The lighthouse itself is a lovely thing. A coal fire has burned on this spot since **1617**, guiding Urk's fishermen and the ships running from Amsterdam to the North Sea. The white tower you'll see went up in 1845 — and then, decades later, had to be **made taller**, because a building in the village had grown and was blocking its beam. 😄 It's also the only lighthouse in the country whose lens turns *anticlockwise*, thanks to a quirk of who built the mechanism. Generations of the same families kept the light; the last keeper's family still lives in the little house beside it. And there's a wartime story attached to this tower that I'll save for the walk itself. 🤫 *** ##### 🍺 And then — the local beer We'll finish at **Café De Kaap**, where we can try **Zuiderzeebier**, brewed locally, and eat something if we're hungry. 🍻 Worth knowing: it's also one of the very few places open in Urk. This is a village with strong traditions and a quiet feel, so options are limited — which makes De Kaap all the more of a find. A good spot to sit, drink, and let the day settle. *** ##### 🗓️ Practical info * **📅 When:** Saturday 12 September 2026 · 15:00 * **📍 Meeting point:** the **Singel bus stop**, Urk * **🚶 The walk:** through the harbour, along the IJsselmeer, to the lighthouse and the old village * **🍺 After:** Café De Kaap — Zuiderzeebier and food * **🌐 Language:** English **What to bring:** comfortable shoes, a windproof layer (the IJsselmeer doesn't do gentle), and curiosity about a place unlike anywhere else in the country. 🌬️ *** ##### 👀 Who's this for? Anyone who loves the sea, harbours, lighthouses, and stories about places that history did something odd to. It's the last *Lights On* of the year — and a fitting one, since Urk is the only stop in the whole series where the sea has since disappeared. ⚓ *See you at the Singel bus stop — on the island that isn't.* Group: Art, Food, and Fun Going: 16 Group members: 3,794 Official listing: https://www.meetup.com/art-food-and-fun/events/316167212/