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Huygenswaard -Z-

As with my other typically Dutch map, Drebbeldam, water plays an important role. This map has a large river crossing nearly the entire playing area. There are many siderivers, creeks and canals. I have made two small lakes, one with a sandy shore. There is an area that I think is excellent to create a holiday park, something I really enjoy making in the game. Along the river there are low dikes and stretches of floodland. It is perfectly fine to build there as water flow is completely stable. I've also included breakwaters, called 'strekdammen' in Dutch, which are an actual method of protecting river banks. Therefore, the current near the various inlets should be considerably slower. I created a medieval city centre with canals around the original defence structures. Many old Dutch cities have these types of star shaped centres, though some have filled the moat to create roads. The land around the centre is slightly lower than it's surroundings.

For this map I was inspired by the cities of Zwolle and Brielle, the national park the Hoge Veluwe, the IJssel river and Drenthe. I wanted to create a map that resembles the east of the Netherlands. In the north-eastern corner of the map I tried to make a hilly, rural zone. There are two 'zandverstuivingen', a type of sanddrift, that are iconic for the Veluwe. These rare streches contain very fine sand that is easily lifted by the wind. I tried to make another somehat rare natural phenomenon known as heath[en.wikipedia.org]. In Europe, heathland is mostly found on the British isles, but some areas in the Netherlands also have these plants. They have a tendency to be caught in wildfires, so this type of shrubland is becoming quite rare.

The region has three incoming rail lines, three highway routes and ship routes along the entire river. There are three areas for ore, all within the forests, and three for oil. There is plenty of farmland at the outskirts of the map.

I named the region after the famous Dutch astronomer and inventor Christiaan Huygens[en.wikipedia.org]. He discovered Saturns moon Titan and invented the pendulum clock.



Typical Dutch Landscapes
Drebbeldam (European)
Mondriaansland
Pierdoniadiel

Coastal
Kruyswick (European)
Baardmans Bay
Spykerbrook

Islands
Ambrose Island (European)
Teyland
Great Flutland

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