Dutch windmills

The most famous windmills of Holland

Kinderdijk is the most famous group of polder mills and is World Heritage listed. This UNESCO site with nineteen mills gives you a great impression of how floods were prevented. Besides being home to this creative form of water management, Kinderdijk is  a wonderful, picturesque area.

The mills of Schiedam are the five largest windmills in the world. These gigantic windmills, some over 40 meters high, played an important role in the production of jenever (Dutch gin). Instead of reclaiming land, these smock mills (a type of industrial mill) were used grind grain.

Museum Mill Schermerhorn is located in the reclaimed Schermer polder. The museum mill is one of eleven remaining mills that pumped the water out of Schermeer lake four centuries ago. You will experience the power of the wind in this beautiful polder landscape, discovering how this ingenious mill system worked.

Last but not least, you should visit Zaanse Schans. Some 250 years ago, well over 600 mills formed the first industrial site in the world. They performed a wide range of industrial duties, such as producing shelves, paint, mustard, oil and paper. Today it’s an open-air conservation area and museum, which attracts thousands of visitors each year.

Mills of Holland

With over a thousand windmills throughout the Netherlands, it’s very likely that you’ll bump into one. Nevertheless, a visit to the windmills at Kinderdijk, Zaanse Schans and the mills of Schiedam is highly recommended.