The Hand of Oterdum

Last Sunday I told you about the history of the small village of Oterdum and its cemetery on the dike near Delfzijl, in the north east of the province of Groningen. This monument, also at the cemetery, marks the exact location of where the church once was.
The `Hand of Oterdum´ was created by M. Meesters. After the original hand, made of bronze, was stolen in 2011 a new hand of synthetic material was made to replace it.

Oterdum cemetery

Oterdum was a small village once in the north east of the province of Groningen, halfway the towns of Delfzijl and Termunten. 200 people lived here near the dike. Then in the 1970s all farms, houses, as well as the church and cemetery (only the grave stones, the bodies were left) had to move for a new higher dike that would protect the rest of the province against the sea. Oterdum was no more.

Years later the grave stones, all dating from the 19th century, were re-placed at their original spot at the new dike. Some of the bigger grave stones have beautiful drawings and remember of the old times in a small fisherman's village.
We were passing here today and I'm glad we stopped to have a closer look. It's a remarkable place.