A legakker is a long, narrow strip of land left standing between the dredged channels of Dutch lowland peat extraction. The wet peat was laid out on that strip to dry — hence the name, literally ‘laying field’ — after which the dried mass was cut into turves and shipped to the cities by barge.
It is therefore not a natural feature but a working surface: the landscape of the Vecht lakes, the Nieuwkoop lakes, the Loosdrecht lakes and parts of north-west Overijssel is entirely shaped by it.
Legakker and petgat
The two belong together:
- Petgat (also trekgat) — the elongated stretch of water from which the peat was dredged, including below the water table. From the sixteenth century this was done with a baggerbeugel, a net on a long pole.
- Legakker — the strip left in between, on which the dredged peat was dried.
Peat digging followed set dimensions: narrow strips gave more yield per hectare, wide strips were more stable. Where the work was pushed too narrow, the strips washed away and produced the large open lakes that exist today — the Loosdrecht lakes being the best-known example.
Why legakkers disappear
A legakker is built up from loose, soft peat with no firm core, and is attacked from two sides:
- Wave action from wind and from recreational boat traffic erodes the banks.
- Oxidation and settlement of peat that ends up above water, causing the strip to sink.
- Root damage and grazing from falling trees and from geese.
Without management a legakker disappears within a few decades. Restoration projects therefore work with bank protection, reed fringes, sinker mattresses or refilling with dredged material.
What it means if you want to build there
Many legakkers carry holiday cabins and boathouses reachable only by water. Building on such a strip is a distinctive job:
- Bearing capacity is minimal. Peat is compressible and carries almost nothing. Expect a piled foundation down to the sand layer, or a deliberately light foundation principle; a shallow foundation gives uneven settlement.
- Everything has to go by water. Materials, plant and waste travel by boat or pontoon. That dictates the method: light, prefabricated and in manageable sections.
- Bank protection is part of the job. Without it the ground under your building literally slides away.
- Planning rules are strict. Legakkers lie almost always within protected nature areas (often Natura 2000) with a recreational or nature designation. Building, altering and even installing bank protection needs consent; check with both the municipality and the water authority before planning anything.
- No connections. Water, electricity and drainage are usually absent; allow for independent supply and an approved wastewater solution.
Related terms
- Peat
- Polder
- Bank revetment
- Piled foundation
- Settlement
- Cultural landscape
- Landscape elements
Want to know more about building terms? Take a look at our knowledge base on fredsdiyplans.com.