Nederland - Kloosterhaar, Engbertsdijksvenen

The Engbertsdijksvenen owes its name to the Engberts farming family. The area used to consist of a four to seven meter thick layer of peat that was formed around 10,000 years ago. The original peat bog was about 180,000 hectares in size. Peat extraction started relatively late and was a small-scale operation until the 19th century. Farmers used the peat for their own needs, for instance to stoke their stoves. At the beginning of the 20th century, the peat extraction of the Engbertsdijksvenen was done on a large scale and lasted until the middle of the last century.

From 1953, Staatsbosbeheer (a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves) bought land in the Engbertsdijksvenen. Peat was last excavated in 1984. The area covers an area of 1,000 ha. A small core of peat of about 17 ha still has its original thickness. Only 25 hectares of "living" raised bog remain in the Netherlands.

The Engbertsdijksvenen has been given a protected status in several respects. The Staatsnatuurmonument (National natural monument) has also been designated a Natura 2000 area. It is therefore part of a European network of high-quality nature reserves. It is an international wetland and the largest and most important raised bog area in Western Europe.