Urk Webcam – Watch the Harbor of a Former Zuiderzee Island

The Urk Webcam looks over the marina off the Dormakade in Urk, a fishing town on the IJsselmeer in the Dutch province of Flevoland. Sailing yachts and motor cruisers fill the pontoons in front of the lens, their masts standing in rows, and past the harbor wall the open lake runs to the horizon. The camera moves between preset views, turning across the water to the houses of the Oosthavenkade and a slipway with boats hauled up on it. Two more cameras from the same operator sit in the tabs: the Westhavenkade, over a yacht basin with wind turbines far out on the lake, and the Werkhaven, the work harbor where workboats tie up. Wind and light change the scene through the day.

About Urk

Urk was an island in the Zuiderzee until October 1939, when a dike from Lemmer tied it to the mainland. The neighboring Noordoostpolder was drained in 1942, and the village got its first road connection in 1948. The old island rests on a boulder-clay hill that rises to 9 meters (30 feet) above NAP, the Dutch reference level, and the town holds the highest point in Flevoland. Around 22,000 people live in Urk today.

Urk is a fishing town, and it still has the largest fishing fleet in the Netherlands. Its fish auction opened in the 1960s, as the fish trade grew quickly, and it has become one of the largest in Europe, with a big processing industry built around it. Shipyards still work along the harbor. The Werkhaven tab shows that working side: on its tour it passes workboats moored beside an engineering works, with the town’s gabled rooftops behind. Locals speak the Urkers dialect, which has more vowel sounds than standard Dutch, and people in traditional clothing turn out for the Urkerdag festival.

The cameras are run by Alpha Tech. The Urk Webcam’s main camera on the Dormakade sweeps from the rows of moored yachts out to the harbor wall and the IJsselmeer. The Westhavenkade camera swings between the yacht basin, with gabled houses and a line of wind turbines beyond it, and a quieter stretch of water where orange rigid inflatable boats lie below the quay. When rain spots one lens, switching tabs can find a clearer view.

Weather and Climate in Urk

Urk has a mild, damp maritime climate. January and February highs average about 6 to 7 C (43 to 45 F), with nights close to 2 C (36 F). Spring warms slowly, from around 10 C (50 F) in March to 17 C (63 F) in May. Summer days in July and August reach about 21 to 22 C (70 to 71 F), and nights stay near 15 C (59 F). Autumn cools from 19 C (66 F) in September to 15 C (59 F) in October and 10 C (50 F) by November.

Rain falls in every month, about 890 millimeters (35 inches) a year in total. July and October are the wettest, at roughly 90 to 95 millimeters (3.5 to 3.8 inches) each, and March and April the driest, at about 55 millimeters (2.2 inches). The weather is easy to read on screen. A calm day leaves the marina glassy and the masts still, while a fresh wind ruffles the basin and sets the rigging swaying. Summer typically brings more boats moving in and out of their berths, and winter can show the pontoons quiet under low cloud and grey water.

Things to Do Near Urk

Urk Lighthouse, a round brick tower attached to a keeper’s house, was built and first lit in 1845. The tower stands 18.5 meters (61 feet) tall, its light sits 27 meters (89 feet) above the water and reaches 18 nautical miles (33 kilometers), and it can be visited on guided tours. The Kerkje aan de Zee, the little church by the sea, has a graveyard where Allied airmen killed in World War II were buried. The town museum takes its name, Het Oude Raadhuis, from the old town hall.

The fishermen’s monument lists the names of the Urk fishermen who drowned at sea, watched over by a statue of a woman looking out over the water, known locally as the Urker vrouw. The Dijkstrand, along the Lemsterdijk near the monument, is a 180-meter (590-foot) beach between two groynes, with play equipment and showers. Offshore, look for the Ommelebommelestien, a large rock about 30 meters (98 feet) out in the IJsselmeer. A local folktale says Urk’s babies come from beneath it, and that a father first had to row to Schokland to fetch the key. In summer a passenger ferry crosses the IJsselmeer to Enkhuizen, a route first sailed in 1890.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What can you see on the Urk Webcam?

The main camera tours the marina off the Dormakade, with sailing yachts and motor cruisers on their pontoons, the harbor wall and the IJsselmeer beyond. It also turns across the water to the houses of the Oosthavenkade and a slipway. The Westhavenkade tab looks over a yacht basin toward gabled houses and distant wind turbines, and the Werkhaven tab follows the work harbor with its workboats and an engineering works.

Where is Urk located?

Urk is on the eastern shore of the IJsselmeer in the province of Flevoland, in the central Netherlands. It has no railway station of its own: the nearest, at Kampen, Dronten and Lelystad, are each about 30 kilometers (19 miles) away.

Which part of Urk harbor does the webcam show?

The main camera covers the marina at the Dormakade. The tabs add two more parts of the harbor: the Westhavenkade, a quay on the Westhaven, and the Werkhaven, the work harbor, where workboats moor beside an engineering works.

Does the Urk Webcam show the beach?

Mostly no, because the main camera stays on the marina. Urk’s Dijkstrand, a 180-meter (590-foot) beach, lies along the Lemsterdijk near the fishermen’s monument rather than in the harbor. A smaller strip of sand, Strand Staversekade, sits by the Westhaven, and one of the Westhavenkade tab’s presets looks across the water to a sandy shore beyond the far quay.

What is the weather like in Urk?

Mild and damp. Winter highs average 6 to 7 C (43 to 45 F) and summer highs 21 to 22 C (70 to 71 F). Rain falls in every month, about 890 millimeters (35 inches) a year, with July and October the wettest.

Was Urk an island?

Yes. Urk was an island in the Zuiderzee until 1939, when a dike from Lemmer connected it to the mainland. The Noordoostpolder beside it was drained in 1942.

How do you get to Urk?

By road, since the nearest railway stations are about 30 kilometers (19 miles) away. In summer a passenger ferry also crosses the IJsselmeer from Enkhuizen, a service that dates back to 1890.

Source: Alpha Tech