Stolpfarms and garden walls

Stolpfarms

Stolp farms are shaped like a pyramid. The roof slopes on all four sides, so the nearly ever-present wind on Texel has little grip on the building. Originally, the farms consisted only of the pyramid-shaped stolp (bell-glass). This contained the living areas as well as accommodation for the cattle. Later, the living area was built onto the stolp, separating the living area more from the work area.

The garden wall

The garden wall is an embankment made up of turf, which serves as a partition of the plot. There is nothing similar anywhere anymore in the Netherlands. They used to be found on Wieringen in the past, but they have practically disappeared.

History of the garden wall

The garden wall is steep and has no plants on it. The walls in the land of Vollenhove in the province of Overijssel are similar to the Texel garden wall. There too, they are relatively narrow and rather steep. The construction, however, is completely different and, with hawthorn and blackthorn growing on them, they also look completely different.

The garden wall most probably originated after 'all-over grazing' was discontinued; the use of the communal pastures. This discontinuance took place around 1640, and necessitated the creation of separate plots. Because the rolling landscape prevented the construction of ditches, the garden walls were created.

Special plants

In the course of the years, the rain washes all nutriments out of the garden wall and the soil becomes barren, accommodating special plants such as harebells and thrift. In the diagram, the original structure of the garden wall is illustrated. The garden walls that are made these days, however, have a completely different construction. The turf is simply stacked.

Drinking pools

On the island's ancient land, many of the meadows feature drinking pools known in Dutch as "kolken". These pools or wells were built to provide drinking water for livestock. The island is very arid and the ditch water is often brackish. The wells collect rain and spring water. The shallow incline allows the animals to drink without risk of falling in. The kolken are also invaluable in terms of biology, providing the perfect habitat for plants and small aquatic animals.

Preserve the kolken

Many farmers fill in the kolken as they can hamper the growth of some crops. To counteract this, a special subsidy scheme has been introduced to preserve the kolken.