De Ven
De Ven is a lighthouse in Oosterdijk, a village in the municipality of Enkhuizen, Netherlands. Built in 1699-1700, it is one of the oldest lighthouses in the Netherlands.
History
De Ven was one of the three lighthouses indicating the route from the Waddenzee to Amsterdam; the other two were at Marken and Durgerdam. De Ven is the only one remaining of the three original lighthouses.
In 1819 the lighthouse burned down, with only the outer walls still standing. An emergency solution functioned for twenty years. In 1834, the light was equipped with a Fresnel lens. For years, a second tower next to the lighthouse passed on information to passing ships about wind and weather. Since 1966 the lighthouse is a Rijksmonument.
The light was extinguished on 16 April 2009 since the light characteristic no longer properly marked the shipping route to Lemmer. After protests the light was reinstated with a different characteristic, on 21 October 2009. The lighthouse is not open to the public.
See also
Ton van de Ven
Ton van de Ven (January 1, 1944 – September 16, 2015) was a Dutch industrial designer. He is best known as the creative director at the Efteling theme park.
Van de Ven was born in Eindhoven, Netherlands, where he also studied at the Design Academy.
Work at Efteling
After graduation in 1963, Van de Ven applied for a job at Efteling in 1965. Anton Pieck, leading designer at the time, only asked him one question: "Do you master perspective?" Ton bent the truth a little to say that he did. He then started to work with Pieck on various aspects of the park, gradually developing his own style, which never conflicted with the existing styles in the park.
Van de Ven's first project was to work with Pieck on the Indian Waterlilies. After a few sketches Pieck was convinced that he could fully trust the park in the hands of Van de Ven. When Pieck retired in 1975, Ton became the creative director of the park.
Van de Ven's first "own" ride was the Haunted Castle ("Spookslot") in 1978, the first big attraction in the park. He created many of the current Efteling landmarks, of which Fata Morgana and Dreamflight are considered to be his master pieces.
Podcasts:
