Kiesterzijl has a number of houses, a swing bridge over the Van Harinxma Canal [nl], a shipping company and a power plant for transmission towers.

The Kiesterzijl was named after the nearby hamlet of Kie and was the largest and most important lock (Dutch: zijl) in the Slachtedijk.

The lock gates were usually open and were only closed in times of emergency, such as during a heavy storm when there was a risk that the seawall could collapse and the Slachtedijk had to hold back the water as a sleeper dike.

[3] The dike then closed off the water from the Harlinger Zijlroede, called Harlingertrekvaart [nl] from 1645 and Van Harinxma Canal from 1939.

[6] As part of the improvement of the Fonejacht-Harlingen waterway, the Kiesterzijl was located a little further south in the Van Harinxma Canal.

That is why in 1956 a complete hoisting system was installed on the north and south sides of the bridge, which made it possible to close the passages with the pipes within two hours.