Kinderdijk Windmills in Zuid Holland

The Windmills that Saved a Nation and Inspired Painters and Artists

When one thinks of the Netherlands, several things come to mind: wooden clogs, canals, cheese, and of course, lots of windmills! Windmills are very much part of the Netherlands, and the landscape wouldn't be as scenic or dramatic without those mills!

If you share my passion for windmills as much as I do, when visiting the Netherlands, treat yourself to a trip to the village of Kinderdijk, the only place in the world where you'll find the largest concentration of operational windmills! There are nineteen windmills at Kinderdijk, and they were built between the years of 1500 and 1740. All specimens are well-preserved, and in 1997, the windmills were put on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

About the Kinderdijk Windmills:

More than half of the Netherlands is reclaimed land which lies under sea level, making the land prone to flooding. During the 13th century, periodic flooding became problematic, so canals were built to get rid of the excess water in the reclaimed land areas, called the Alblasserwald polders.

To keep flooding under control, the windmills at Kinderdijk were built to drain the excess water from the polders, and they would pump the excess water into a reservoir until level of the Lek River was lowered. However, in the 1860's the windmills could not cope with the amount of water coming into the polders, and as a result, pumping stations, powered by diesel fuel were set up, and the windmills were retired.

During World War II, diesel fuel became scarce, and it became difficult to operate the pumping stations, thus, the Kinderdijk windmills were brought out of retirement, and they were fully-operational until 1945, but were quickly closed down again when fuel became available. However, these noble windmills are not out of commission forever, as they can still be used in case of an emergency!

Types of Windmills at Kinderdijk:

~ The oldest mill was built in 1521, and it is the only example of a hollow post mill, found anywhere.

~ Two windmills built around 1760 are made of stone, and are located in the polder Nieuw-Lekkerland.