A plot of land was given to the visionary boat builder Wilhelm Vos in 1985 by the even greater visionary, the major of Lelystadt. The plot was to be the site for the building of a full size replica of The East-India sailing ship Batavia. Vos insisted that when the keel was down, most of the work would be completed. He was right, crowds of spectators gathered, and it became a national project.

Vos’ vision was that the project should employ the unemployed and give opportunities to youngsters from various background possibilities to learn about their own culture and traditional handcraft skills.
Motivation – not knowledge was the most important criteria of selection to become a part of this. According to Vos, the ship itself is not the goal, the process and the people are! He was given the Order of Orange for his achievement, the highest honor to be given to a Dutch citizen.

Queen Beatrix baptized the ship with water from the Indian Ocean April7th 1995 and gave her the name, Batavia.