Stoomgemaal Mastenbroek

Stoomgemaal Mastenbroek is a steam-powered pumping station that lifts water from low-lying areas into a system of drainage canals to prevent flooding in the surrounding farmland. The facility keeps its original machinery intact while functioning as both an active water management installation and a place where visitors can see how everything works.

Built in the late 1800s, the station was created to solve critical flooding problems in the agricultural areas of Overijssel province. Steam technology offered the best available solution at that time for managing the constant struggle with water in low-lying Dutch lands.

The station shows how water management became central to local life and survival in the agricultural regions, shaping the way communities organized their land and farming. You can feel how much ingenuity went into solving practical problems with water on a daily basis.

You can walk through the building to see the working steam engine and pumping mechanisms up close, which helps you understand how everything connects. Wear comfortable shoes and give yourself enough time to explore, as the machinery is complex and worth examining carefully.

Although it still pumps water today, the machinery is over a hundred years old and operates using the same mechanical principles from when it was built. This longevity reveals just how dependable and well-designed the engineering was for its time.