Dear members of the KIVI Department of History of Technology and of Histechnica,

The Boards of the Histechnica Association and of the KIVI History of Technology Section are pleased to invite you to attend a lecture to be delivered by Mr ir A. Burgers entitled:

"From the Scheldt to the Rhine" The waterway quarrel between the Netherlands and Belgium"

Programme:

  • 10.30 am: Walk-in with coffee and tea
  • 11:00 a.m.: Welcome and introduction
  • 11.05:00: Lecture by Mr Ton Burgers
  • 12:00 hrs: Break
  • 12:15: Continuation of lecture and closing discussion
  • 12:45: End of the meeting

please register to attend this lecture:

  • KIVI members can register via the KIVI website
  • Members of Histechnica can register through the secretary hotzeboonstra@gmail.com.
  • Interested parties who are not members can also register through the above channels. There will then be a cost of €5.00.
  • The lecture will be broadcast live; you should also register for this through the above channels. There is no charge for this.

Summary of the lecture:

This lecture will explain why a short and fast connection from Antwerp to the Rhine is difficult. Yet several designs had been made early on. The first attempt was the Fosse Eugenia during the Eighty Years' War. Then came Napoleon with his Grand Canal du Nord, past Venlo which was part of the French empire. Under King William I, the common interest of the northern and southern Netherlands seemed to prevail for a while. But that was not how Belgium perceived it - Liège and Antwerp were disadvantaged. After the separation of the two countries, the Netherlands reinstated the Scheldetoll. In the east there was a row over the Meuse water, in the west over the connection through the intervening waters. After World War I, the atmosphere even became grim. Belgium demanded a canal from Antwerp to the Moerdijk and a second across Limburg to the Rhine. The Netherlands refused and started the Juliana Canal. Belgium reacted furiously and decided to build the Albert Canal. And refused to improve the Stop of Ternaaien. Even after World War II, negotiations continued for years. The Benelux Treaty was concluded only after the disagreement over water connections was resolved. And now there are two beautiful connections: the Scheldt-Rhine Canal in the west and the Lanaye locks in the east.

Information about the speaker Ton Burgers graduated as a civil engineer in 1970. He worked at Boskalis, Waterloopkundig Laboratorium and Royal Haskoning. In 2014, he wrote the book Dutch great rivers - Three centuries of struggle against floods. At the publisher's request, he published a book on the new Arnhem railway station in 2015 and the Utrecht station in 2016. He is active as a city guide in Arnhem and is a regular contributor to the Tijdschrift voor Waterstaatsgeschiedenis on the subject of this lecture.

For online participation click here

Upcoming activities at Science Center Delft:

  • Saturday 28 June 2025 at 11:00 am lecture by Dr H.G Heijmans: "The deception of Alexandria; Robert Fryer and the Pocahontas"
  • A 2-day study tour to Liege and its surroundings will take place on Thursday 22 May and Friday 23 May 2025
  • Saturday 27 September 2025 at 11am lecture and tour Maritiem Museum Rotterdam, exhibition "Te Water: Discover Dutch Shipbuilding."
  • Saturday 25 October 2025 at 11:00 a.m. lecture by Ir. G.J. Luijendijk: "The Gliding Bridge Around the World". Guidebooks for the 2-day study tour to Liege and its surroundings will be available during the lecture.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Histechnica, a book "Uit Falen Vooruitgang Halen" was published on Saturday 20 April 2024. The book will be available free of charge during the lecture.