In the devastating All Saints’ Flood in 1170 Texel was ripped loose from the mainland. In the 17the century the inhabitants were able to connect their island with Eijerland, once part of Vlieland, only to have it torn loose again in the 13th century. With plants that can hold onto the sand the Tesselaars broadened the beach and dunes until a sand dike to Eijerland could be built, turning the two islands into one.
The inhabitants created polders behind the dike. In the 17th century the Waal and Burg polders were the first land areas to be permanently reclaimed from the sea. The Eendracht, the Prins Hendrik polder en Het Noorden followed in the 19th century. Texel is still much the same today but the dynamics of the Wadden are forever changing.
