What is a vliedberg?
A vliedberg is an artificial mound in the Dutch province of Zeeland, raised by people in the Middle Ages and ranging from a few metres to just over ten metres high. In Dutch it is called a vliedberg, often translated as refuge hill. The name comes from the old verb vlieden: to flee, to take refuge. Vliedbergen are striking landscape features in the otherwise flat Zeeland countryside.
Refuge hill or motte?
There has long been confusion about their purpose:
- Refuge hill: for a long time it was thought that people and livestock fled onto them during floods, as the name suggests.
- Motte: today most vliedbergen are seen as mottes, mounds topped by a usually timber defensive tower belonging to a local lord. Most were raised from the late 12th century onwards, in a period when central authority in Zeeland was weak.
Some mounds may have served both purposes. This makes a vliedberg different from a terp: a terp is a dwelling mound carrying a farm or village, whereas a vliedberg mainly carried a tower.
Application
In the Middle Ages there were an estimated 170 or so vliedbergen in Zeeland. Around 38 survive today, most of them on Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland. They are valuable archaeological and cultural heritage and are sometimes restored and opened up to walkers.
The term is also used for new raised refuges for livestock on river floodplains, where the river is given room at high water.
Tips
- Do not just dig: remains of the tower, ditches and everyday objects may lie in and under a vliedberg. Check the archaeological status with the municipality before any groundwork.
- Watch for erosion: walkers and livestock can damage the slopes. A good grass cover and a fixed path limit this.
- Building nearby: take protected sight lines and the local zoning or environmental plan into account.
- Do not confuse it with a terp or dike: a vliedberg is a stand-alone mound, not a dwelling place and not a flood defence.
Related terms
- Terp
- Polder
- Emergency dike
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