Windmills Kinderdijk

The nineteen windmills of Kinderdijk symbolize the way in which the Netherlands deals with the water. For a long time they kept dry the land that was plagued by subsidence and flooding: the Alblasserwaard, once a rough and humid peatland, but eventually colonized and mined by man.

Meadows with grazing cattle, pollard willows and mills, elongated villages on dikes and rivers, historic farms and blossomed standard fruit orchards: this is the typical agricultural cultural landscape of Alblasserwaard and Vijfheerenlanden, the southern edge of the Green Heart of the Netherlands.

The Kinderdijk windmill area is located in the Alblasserwaard between Lek and Merwede, about 25 kilometres from Rotterdam. UNESCO placed the area on the World Heritage List in 1997, a recognition of the unique character of the mill area.

Kinderdijk is located at the lowest point of the Alblasserwaard, a swampy polder land that used to be flooded in winter. The mills can each pump thousands of liters per minute. Through the huge reservoirs – the low and the high bosoms – the water is discharged into the river Lek.

In the 19th century, many mills in the Netherlands were demolished, because large steam pumping stations came into use. But the water boards also continued to use the mills. That is why there are still so many mills together here.

Since Kinderdijk was placed on the World Heritage List in 1997, almost all windmills in the South Holland town have been refurbished. But the restoration of the latter is particularly troublesome and expensive.

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