In North Brabant, 23 gift houses from the period after the 1953 North Sea flood may qualify for national monument status. These are special houses donated to the Netherlands by Scandinavian countries after the flood and still form part of the Brabant street scene. The proposed designation recognizes this heritage as a tangible reminder of both the disaster and the international solidarity that followed.

After the North Sea flood, thousands of people in Southwest Netherlands lost their homes. Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden offered help and donated about 850 wooden houses. These gift houses were designed in the countries of origin and transported to the Netherlands as building kits, where they were quickly assembled. The characteristic architecture still shows where the houses come from today.

Visible Heritage in Brabant

In North Brabant, the gift houses are still clearly recognizable. In Heijningen, a neighborhood with Norwegian and Swedish houses arose after the flood, with street names referring to the countries of origin. For example, the Norwegian houses are on Koning Haakonstraat and the Swedish ones on Graaf Bernadottestraat. The houses make the story of the disaster and international aid visible in the daily life of Brabant villages and neighborhoods to this day.

Deputy for Heritage Bas Maes emphasizes the importance of protecting this heritage: “These gift houses tell the sometimes forgotten Brabant side of the North Sea flood. They are ordinary houses with an extraordinary history. By protecting them, we ensure that this piece of our provincial history remains visible for future generations.”

Volunteer Efforts

The possible designation is partly thanks to the efforts of the Heritage Association Heemschut. Volunteers mapped about 180 gift houses in North Brabant and raised awareness for preservation and careful adjustments. In 2023, the brochure Gift Houses was published, a joint publication by Heemschut and Stichting Dorp Stad en Land.

The Next Step

The provinces of North Brabant, Zeeland, and South Holland jointly initiated the national monument status, following the designation program of the Cultural Heritage Agency that started in 2023. Acting Minister of Education, Culture and Science Gouke Moes announced on November 12, 2025, that a total of 45 gift houses and a village hall have been nominated for designation as national monuments.

Municipalities and other stakeholders can still file objections at this stage. If not, among others, 16 gift houses on Koning Gustaaf-Adolfstraat in Lage Zwaluwe will be definitively designated as national monuments in the second half of 2026.

More Information

View an inventory of all Brabant gift houses (links to another website)