Urk is a small town located on the North Sea in the northern part of the Netherlands. Since the Middle Ages there has been a fishing settlement. Urk was an island for a long time and in the 1930s it was connected to the mainland by a dyke. At the same time the Afsluitdijk was built – it is the dam separating the Zuiderzee from the North Sea. The construction of the dam prevented the residents of Urk from sailing into the sea, but the Dutch government has given support to the fishermen. Since then Urk has been a tourist town. Its inhabitants, due to the long isolation, speak a distinct dialect and have cultivated the local tradition ever since.
