Dronten

Sister cities

• Ogata

History

Plans for the municipality of Dronten were made in the early half of the 1950s; real plans for the town of Dronten (the municipality's center) were revealed in 1958. The foundations for the town were laid in 1960. Right from the start there was a discussion whether Dronten was to become a town or a city. The first plans assumed 15,000 inhabitants, while later plans foresaw a growth to 30,000 inhabitants. The first plans for the municipality assumed ten smaller villages situated around the central town (in this case, Dronten). The number of villages was reduced because of increased motorized traffic and experiences gained in developing the Noordoostpolder, where a similar municipality had already been built. Eventually, it was decided that there were to be two smaller villages (Biddinghuizen and Swifterbant) and one larger town (Dronten). On 1 January 1972, Dronten was given its official name. In 1995, Dronten hosted in Biddinghuizen the 18th World Scout Jamboree. 28,960 Scouts and staff members from 166 countries and territories participated this event.

Most-observed species

• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,166
• Great Crested Grebe

  Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,611
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  10,510
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  9,938
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  9,917
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,544
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  9,425
• Eurasian Coot

  Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  9,420

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2011-09-08
  3 km ENE of Heijen, Netherlands
• M 2.9 — 2008-10-11
  19 km WNW of Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands
• M 3 — 2004-06-21
  3 km NE of Dwingeloo, Netherlands
• M 2.9 — 2003-10-24
  2 km SE of Niekerk, Netherlands
• M 3.4 — 2001-09-10
  10 km W of Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands
• M 3.8 — 2001-09-09
  7 km W of Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands