History · since 1806
Over 200 years of East Frisian history
A chronicle
A farm that has seen a lot.
Built by a wealthy farming family, worked by generations, threatened by the great storm surge, almost lost - and carefully rescued. That is the story of the Gulf farmhouse in the Westerburer Polder.
- 1806
The farm is built
The Kankena family builds one of its seven Gulf farmhouses in the Westerburer Polder - including the cookhouse, which still stands today.
- around 1860
The big barn
A 700 m² second barn is added to the complex.
- 1890
The Deterts family
The Kankenas lease out the farm - for generations it becomes the home and workplace of the Deterts.
- 1962
The storm surge
In the night of 13 February the polder fills with water - the dyke holds.
- 2003
Farewell
Karl Deterts leaves the farm because of his age; after that it decays visibly.
- 2012
A new beginning
We buy the farm - after three years of planning, restoration begins in July 2015.
- 2016
Brought back to life
After twelve months of building work, the first guests move in that summer.
1806 - 2003
A farm for generations
In the early 19th century the wealthy Kankena family built seven Gulf farmhouses along the North Sea coast. One of them was the farm in the Westerburer Polder, built in 1806. The cookhouse that still stands today was part of the original complex. For more than 80 years the farm was run by the family that built it, and around 1860 they added a second barn of 700 m².
In 1890 the Kankenas left the farm and leased it to the Deterts family. The Gulf farmhouse was their home and workplace for many generations, until the bachelor Karl Deterts had to leave in 2003 because of his age. Two more tenants followed, but under them the ageing farm decayed into a ruin at frightening speed. In 2012 we were finally able to buy it.
13 February 1962
The night the water came
It is 13 February 1962. A storm depression coming from Greenland brings all shipping on the North Sea to a standstill and threatens the coast with a severe storm surge. The night high tide at the Westerburer Polder rises 3 to 3.5 metres above normal, and by evening the water already stands halfway up the dyke. From 8 pm it washes over the top and the family takes refuge on the neighbouring farm. A tense night lies ahead. The dyke holds, but through its many weak points the polder fills with up to a metre of water.
Then the storm eased and the full extent of the disaster became visible.
The rear part of the farm was badly hit. Hundreds of roof tiles were blown away and the gable of the barn had to be rebuilt. All the livestock had to be taken to neighbouring farms and could only be brought back days later. The salt water had left the ditches and fields saline, so there was no drinking water for the animals.
„The water came up to our knees. The wind pushed us one way, the water the other. Had the dyke broken, we would have drowned miserably in the flood.“
Karl Deterts, 22 years old at the time
„When the water receded we found countless dead earthworms. The salt water was to blame. The soil was dead too. It took years before it could be used again. The salt of the North Sea had changed the grassland as well. Even the cows suffered metabolic disorders. After the next sowing we had to spread 55 tonnes of gypsum. That was the result of a single night.“
2011 - 2016
From ruin to gem
After the last tenant left in 2011, the farm decayed into a ruin at frightening speed. A year later we were able to buy it, and once planning and permits had taken another three years, restoration work began in July 2015. The second barn could no longer be saved and sadly had to be taken down. The fabric of the main building, however, was better than first thought. During the restoration great care was taken to preserve the character of the old walls.
The window openings were returned to their original size, the joints cut out and repointed with period shell lime, the block-frame windows modelled on a sliding element found in the attic, and all the masonry done with bricks salvaged from the interior walls. After a turbulent twelve months of building, with plenty of rain and challenges both expected and unexpected, the ruin became a gem in a unique spot right on the dyke. Letting began in the summer of 2016.
