A Ditch Man Johan Huibers built an “Ark of Noah” after he dreamt that Holland would be flooded, the Daily Mail reports.
Constructed from the metal hulls of old barges and held together by Scandinavian pine, this 23-metre high, 30-metre wide and 135-metre long real-life Noah’s Ark stands four-storeys tall, is as long as a football field and even comes with its own animals.
Dutch contractor Johan Huibers – who took three years to build the vessel – was inspired by a dream about a flood that would wipe out Holland.
“I dreamed a part of Holland was flooded,” Mr Huibers, explained during an interview with the American television programme the Today Show.
‘Then, the next day I get the idea to build an ark of Noah.’
The gigantic wooden structure is the closest to the original ark in terms of its dimensions as Mr Huibers built the vessel to the specifications in the Bible, which states that Noah’s Ark was 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits high and 300 cubits long.
The tourist attraction, which is so big it’s classed as a building not a boat, cost an estimated $1.6 million (over £1 million) to build.
Mr Huiber’s began planning the structure in 1992 but construction of his ark began only in 2009. Work was completed in 2012 by his team of 50 people.
The Dutchman had previously built a smaller model measuring nine-metres wide, 13-metres high and 70-metres long which he sold in order to concentrate on the real-life version.
Inside the Ark are two amphitheaters and fake animal displays as well as presentations on Noah’s history.
Despite its ability to float on water and sail, Huibers told has said that, ‘this time the Ark is not meant to save people from a global flood as Noah did 4,000 years ago, but to tell people that there is a God who loves us, and that He has a plan for our lives’.
The ark, located at Dordrecht, is now open to the public.
