Welcome back to the Netherlands! In favour of chronology, I’m not starting with my stories about Iceland yet. A friend came to visit me after my trip to South Korea, and together we visited some Dutch sights I hadn’t been to before. The first sight we visited was at Kinderdijk, a UNESCO Heritage listed site, filled with traditionally Dutch mills.
History of Kinderdijk
Most of the Dutch UNESCO sites have something to do with Dutchies battling the water: Schokland and Woudagemaal fall within that category but also the Beemster Polder which I haven’t visited yet. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then, that Kinderdijk is also related to the fight against water.
The region Alblasserwaard has experienced problems with water since the Middle Ages. Large canals were dug to get rid of the excess water in the polders. However, the level of the river continued rising due to the river’s sand deposits.
To fix this issue, it was decided to build a series of windmills. These were able to pump water into a reservoir at an intermediate level between the soil in the polder and the river; the reservoir could be pumped out into the river by other windmills whenever the river level was low enough.
Visiting Kinderdijk
The easiest way to reach Kinderdijk is by car. They offer parking near the ticket office for 5 euro per day. This money is used for the maintenance and upkeep of the sights, so it’s all going towards a good cause.
When you have reached the sight, there are a few things you can do. You could either take the boat to see all the windmills. This option did not really appeal to me. I didn’t see the added benefit to be stuck on a boat.
Especially since there’s a nice path next to the windmills which provides you with good views and an opportunity to visit the two Museum Mills.
If you have chosen to walk along the windmills like we did, you have to decide whether you want to buy a ticket or not. Walking the pathway is free, but entrance to the two Museum Mills costs 7,50 euro. When in Rome though, right? I bought the ticket and I can tell you it’s worth it.
First, you can go into a room where they show a movie about the history of the region. The way they tackled this video is like nothing I have seen before. They used multiple screen at the same time, which means you had to look around the whole time to see where the action was. A bit hectic, but a great idea.
Then we started the walk along the mills which wouldn’t have taken us more than half an hour, but we made a few stops.
Museum Mill Blokweer
The first stop was the last mill you can reach on foot, the museum mill Blokweer. This museum mill can be found amidst grazing cows, next to the waters of the low canal (“Lage Boezem”) in the heart of a breathtaking, green polder landscape.
The Blokweer is a still operational mill that has been converted into a fascinating museum with a perfect fusion of knowledge and practice. Don’t be shy to ask the miller some questions.
There’s also a nice garden with cute goats, which of course fascinated me and my friend the most.
Museum Mill Nederwaard
We visited Museum Mill Nederwaard on our way back to the parking. This was my favourite mill of the two!
You can enter the mill and climb all the way to the top to see how everything works. It looks exactly as it did years ago. Apparently, if it’s windy enough the miller will even set the mill in motion!
This mill alone is definitely worth the ticket price!
Conclusion
The Zaanse Schans is apparently a similar sight. Most tourists go there due to its proximity to Amsterdam. I can’t compare the two because I have yet to visit the Zaanse Schans, but Kinderdijk is well worth a detour. It won’t keep you busy for longer than a few hours, so it might be worth also visiting the Van Nelle factory or Rotterdam itself.
