The Mills of Kinderdijk - Netherlands Tourist Guide - Travel & Discover

The Netherlands is famous for its windmills. Today, there are more than 1,000 mills, and nowhere in the world are there as many windmills as near the Dutch village of Kinderdijk. Kinderdijk is a small village only 16 kilometers from Rotterdam, and just under 10 kilometers from the oldest city in Holland, Dordrecht. The village is unique for its 19 centuries old windmills. The mill network at Kinderdijk was constructed to solve drainage problems in the parts of the Ablasserwaard that lay upstream and further east. The Kinderdijk milling complex consists of eight stone and brick windmills of the waterboard Nederwaard, which were built in 1738, eight thatched windmills of the waterboard Overwaard built in 1740, two stone windmills of the polder Nieuw Lekkerland built in 1760, and one windmill of the polder Blokveer which was built in 1521 and burned down in 1997. The area around the Kinderdijk was beautiful in the past and remains so today. The landscape shows how this land has waged its battle against the water for centuries. Behind the beautiful facade of rustling reeds and elegantly rotating windmill sails, there is a hidden tale of battles to the death and hardship, of storms and floods, rising water and human ingenuity, of natural violence and rational planning. The Kinderdijk landscape on a beautiful day in the spring looks like a peaceful painting. A soft breeze stirs the reeds along the water's edge. Twittering waterbirds swim over the water's surface as smooth as a mirror. The landscape lies wide and open, gently illuminated by the first rays of the sun. 19 windmills maintain their guard over this bucolic scene, stately and silent. The outstanding contribution made by the people of the Netherlands to the technology of handling water is admirably demonstrated by the installations in the Kinderdijk-Elschut area. Construction of hydraulic works for the drainage of land for agricultural purposes and human settlement began in the Middle Ages and have continued without interruption to the present day. The site illustrates all the typical features associated with this technology, dikes, reservoirs, pumping stations, administrative buildings, and a series of beautifully preserved windmills. It seems as if time has stood still for centuries in Kinderdijk, a land that has been lost somewhere in time, where urban sprawl has not yet occurred, where the asphalt of roaring motorways has not yet rent the landscape. Sailing ships and horses and carts are the usual means of transport, and the baker and milkman still deliver their goods to the door. The mills drain excess water from the Abvalservaard polders, which are situated below sea level, after which the water is sluiced into the river Lek. Controlling the water completely has never been possible, and in the past centuries, Holland suffered from floods over 30 times, some more severe than others, but always a threat to men, women, children, and animals. Between March and October, a variety of activities are organized, including a number of riverboat cruises along the overvaard that now include Kinderdijk in their programs, providing visitors with a riverside view of the mills. The annual salary of the miller was by no means sufficient for maintaining an entire family, so they often supplemented their incomes with all kinds of additional activities. Fishing was one of these activities, and eels were a perennial favorite. Eels were abundant in the polder area. The trick was to net eels at night using pieces of wood as a float with bait attached to them by hooks, so that the eels could be pulled alive from the water, as they had to be sold alive. The small village of Kinderdijk is located only 15 kilometers from the vibrant seaport of Rotterdam. The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for child's dike. The origin of the village name is not known, but according to legend, it comes from a remarkable event that occurred during a flood in the 15th century. During the St. Elizabeth flood of 1421, the Grote Hollandse Waarde flooded, but the Ablasse Waarde polder remained unflooded. It is said that when the terrible storm had subsided, someone went on to the dike between these two areas to see what could be saved. He saw a wooden cradle floating in the distance. There was no hope that anything would be living in it, but when it approached, movement was seen. When the cradle came near, someone saw that a cat was in the cradle trying to keep it in balance by jumping back and forth so that no water could come into it. When the cradle eventually came near the dike, someone fished the cradle out and saw that in it a baby slept quiet and dry. In some of the stories, the cat kept it balanced in a float. This folktale and legend has been published as The Cat in the Cradle in English. There are currently three pumping stations in Kinderdijk, namely the Visboom pumping station, the J.U. Schmidt pumping station, and the Overvaard pumping station. Most of the windmills at Kinderdijk are still inhabited. This is in spite of a backlog in restoration work and major setbacks in recent decades. The greatest danger currently facing the windmills is damage to their foundations caused by water seeping under or through the water ducts. The millers who inhabit these splendid constructions care for them with love and dedication. Some modify the buildings to meet the needs of growing families by creating new bedrooms on the upper floor or carrying out further renovations as necessary. The windmills, including the wood, moving parts, and thatched roof, must be properly maintained. The powerful mill sails serve to transmit the force of the wind onto large paddle wheels which scoop up the water. Nowadays, power-driven pumping engines, including one of the largest water-screw pumping stations in Europe, do the job. In the past, the millers' family tried to subsist by growing as many vegetables as possible around the windmill and by keeping animals. Goats, pigs, and chickens were among the usual livestock of a miller's family. Hunting was another activity, particularly for moles in the winter months. Cutting reed was also common. There was often a lot of reed in the vicinity of the windmills that had to be cut at certain times of the year. The interplay of open water and marshy areas overgrown with reed is ideal as a breeding ground for birds. Many of the birds which lay their eggs each year in the drainage pool area are on the list of protected birds, among them purple herons, spotted crakes, and bitterns. The Dutch expression living from the wind refers to the miller's way of life. The meaning, however, has shifted over time. Anyone who lives in a windmill nowadays hardly needs to make much effort to enjoy a pleasant life. Living from the wind in the heyday of the windmills was, however, hard and merciless. That especially applied to the millers in the water mills. Although they had to be careful to keep their windmills turning when necessary, there was no tangible product of their labors. The water mill pumped water to a higher level, and while the work was necessary and highly appreciated, it did not produce a product which could be sold. There was a saying that the polder at its level meant the welfare of the countryman. There were regulations and instructions for operating the windmills to which the millers had to adhere strictly. One rule that often appeared in regulations such as these related to the behavior of the millers. An instruction to water millers in the polders at Lekkerkerk on the other side of the Lek stated, for example, you will always be sober and close at hand in order to be able to make use of every opportunity given by the wind. It was stated that the windmills had to be kept properly clean, and that no changes were to be made in the interior. Proper maintenance of all the parts of the mill was of vital importance. For this reason, the millers were often busy carrying out jobs on and around the windmill. The Overvaard pumping station was built in 1995 as an electrically driven Archimedean screw pumping station with a capacity of 1,500 cubic meters per minute. It drains the lower bosom of the Overvaard. The Verwaard F. Goerdt Kinderdijk Foundation maintains and preserves Kinderdijk's windmills. The preservation is not limited to the windmills themselves, but also covers the area in which the windmills are situated. The foundation makes use of funds from the government, and the members of the foundation each contribute toward the cost of maintenance. With additional funds, the backlog of repairs can be reduced. The outstanding contribution made by the people of the Netherlands to the technology of handling water is admirably demonstrated by the installations in the Kinderdijk-Elschoot area. Construction of hydraulic works for the drainage of land for agricultural purposes and human settlement began in the Middle Ages and have continued without interruption to the present day. In 1997, the mills of Kinderdijk were included on UNESCO's World Heritage List.