Ookflevoland

Swifterbant culture

People lived in this area long before the Zuider Zee developed. Over six thousand years ago, Flevoland was a vast coastal marsh where people constructed settlements on the natural levees along the many rivers. During the late 1960s, in the area of Swifterbant the remains of such a settlement were found, including a well-preserved skeleton. This is why these former inhabitants are referred to as the Swifterbant culture. In the Natuurpark Lelystad (nature park), visitors are given an idea of what these old villages looked like. There is a prehistoric settlement, a small village named Swifterkamp where visitors can sample life in the New Stone Age. If you really want to experience prehistoric life, consider living there temporarily and spending the night on a straw mattress. The village is regularly inhabited, particularly during spring and summer. The temporary inhabitants bake bread, make jewellery and tools, gather wood, spin, weave and cook over open fires.