European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A amps photos by a l. Emmett Lewis or. By Norm Zeigler travel outdoor writer there is a dutch saying that goes Quot god made the world but the dutch made the  like Many aphorisms there is More than a Grain of truth to it. More than 3,000 Square Miles of the Netherlands 15,000 Square Miles of surface area have been snatched from the sea in a reclamation process that dates to the 12th Century. With dikes ditches canals and pumps the dutch have held the sea at Bay and dried out swamps lakes and marshes. In a sense the country is not Only Man made but also Man maintained. If the maintenance stopped 38 percent of the land would eventually be flooded. It is a Marvel of engineering. Visitors to the Netherlands who want to know How a lot of the Farmland they drive past was created should visit the Cru quits museum located about four Miles South of Haarlem. The museum set in a former steam powered pumping station chronicles the history and mechanics of the reclamation project that created a country. R the main exhibit at the museum is the building itself. From the outside it looks like a curious combination of a Castle fortress and a machine. Huge steel arms and Piston rods extend from a round Brick Tower that looms above the Flat Countryside. The Cru quits pumping station was one of three built in the Netherlands through reclamation projects. The mid-1800s to Drain the Haarlem Lake whose enlargement by storms and tides threatened Leiden and Amsterdam. Cru quits a named in Honor of dutch Hydraulic Engineer Jacobus de Kruik a went into operation in april 1849. For its time the station was a technological wonder producing 350 horsepower of Energy with its Coal fired boilers and pumping up to 70,000 Gallons a minute. Cru quits and its two sister stations worked so Well that by july 1852, the take was dry and 45,000 acres of new land had been created. In one sense Cru quits functioned like the old fashioned hand pumps you still see in campgrounds and Hunting Camps. The main difference is the scale. Eight individual pumps surround the Tower at the Cru quits station. The Piston in each of the pumps is More than 6 feet in diameter. The Cru quits station was in operation for 84 years a until 1933. It was saved from demolition by a private foundation that opened it As a museum in 1936, today the Cru quits museum is an educational Monument to dutch ingenuity. Models drawings and dioramas illustrate dutch geography and the various developments in Hydraulic technology from 12th-Century Gravity drainage systems to the first Windmill powered pumps in the 15th Century through today s diesel and electric pumps. One of the most fascinating exhibits is a working Model of the Netherlands a Complete with water and pumps a showing the main system of dikes and Waterways and the various water Levels. On a recent visit a dutch girl was evidently so impressed by the rising and receding water that she shouted out Quot wow baby Quot for a roomful of visitors. Children will also like the miniature windmills and the steam engine itself billed As one of the world s biggest. A Guidebook and video both available in English give further details on the various museum displays. Food and refreshments Are available at a cafe restaurant next door to the museum. The Cru quits museum is open 10 . To 5 . Weekdays april to september and noon to 5 . Sundays and holidays. In october and november the museum is open 10 . To 4  weekdays noon to 4 . Sundays and holidays. Admission is free for children under 6. Children 6 to 18 and seniors 65 and Over pay 2 guilders $1.05. Those Between 18 and 65 pay 3.50 guilders. For group bookings or More information Contact Erie Den Van de Cru quits Raad Huis Haar Lemmermeyer Post bus 250, 2130 a Hoof Dorp Netherlands Tel 0031-23-285704. A 12 stripes Magazine apr/7 25, 1991 the giant gears inside the museum Dwarf visitors. My n 3 n 11 u l u Iii f ii a -. A i v top photo a Model shows How windmills were used to help pump water. Above supports extending from the exterior of the museum Are attached to the pumps that drained water from the land. April 25, 1991 stripes Magazine 13