This city in South Holland has always been the center of the ‘jenever’ (Dutch gin) industry. Mills ground grain for the distillers, who distilled malt spirit for the ‘jenever’ industry. During its heydays the ‘Company of Distillers’ owned nineteen stilling mills. Five of these still stand in Schiedam today. They are among the tallest mills in the world.

Because these mills were built in the city they needed quite a bit of height to catch sufficient wind. ‘De Noord’ (The North) and ‘De Vrijheid’ (The Freedom) are the two tallest windmills in the world, measuring over 33 meters.

Mill ‘De Walvisch’ and ‘De Nieuwe Palmboom’

Mill ‘De Walvisch’ was destroyed by fire in 1996. Fund-raising drives organized by the local population and the Schiedam Mill Association yielded sufficient funds to restore the mill. It has been in operation again since 1999.
Stilling mill ‘De Nieuwe Palmboom’ (The New Palm Tree) is open to the public. It also houses the National Flourmill Museum.