The 'dead cities' promoted in this travel advertisement of 1903 refers to a book of 1875 entitled 'The Dead Cities of the Zuyder Zee' by Henry Havard. The writer visited various regions around North Holland, including the old cities of Enkhuizen and Hoorn for example. These were busy trade ports at the time of the so-called Dutch Golden Age in the 16th and 17th centuries, rich from the colonial exploits of the Dutch East India Company. Dwindling in the 18th and 19th centuries, these 'dead cities' were eclipsed by the rising importance of Amsterdam, and mainly became quiet fishing towns. The geography of the Zuiderzee was fundamentally changed in 1932 with the completion of the Afsluitdijk, a 20 mile long dam serving as a road and sea barrier to protect the low lying nation from flooding. Once the Zuiderzee bay was closed off, it became the IJsselmeer, a lake bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. Large areas of water were reclaimed for farming and housing, known as polders. The Zuiderzee museum in Enkhuizen opened in 1950 and is devoted to preserving the cultural heritage and maritime history from the old Zuiderzee region, focusing on coastal life, boats, and traditional costume (klederdracht) such as that depicting in the advert. A replica village opened in 1983 with some old buildings transported whole from other parts of the region including the island of Marken. They demonstrate traditional local crafts there such as rope-making, cooperage and herring smoking.