The Island of Brienenoord was created in the 19th century. Then silt plates formed in the Meuse and became overgrown with reeds, rushes and osier. The island is 1400 meters long and about 200 meters at its widest point. It has been around since the early 19th century, when a sandbank in the outer bend of the river Nieuwe Maas became overgrown. Baron Van Brienen van de Groote Lindt bought the plot of land in 1847 and gave it his name.
The forest that grew here over the years was cut down during the Second World War by both the German occupiers and by desperate Rotterdammers in search of firewood. But in the decades that followed, the island became forested again.
With the urbanization of IJsselmonde, also an island but much bigger, Brienenoord seems to have been forgotten. On the other side of Zuiddiepje there is an industrial area, behind it are residential areas, busy roads and the Feyenoord stadium. But on Brienenoord itself there are only a few allotment gardens, a subcultural center and the pillars of the bridge that got the island’s name.
The most beautiful part of the island is located right under the Brienenoord Bridge: the tidal channel where the water flows in and out through sandbanks during ebb and flow. During a trip across the island you will encounter Scottish Highlanders.
Scottish Highlander
Here is an impression of animal photography of photography of the Island of Brienenoord.