Kinderdijk is a small village 15 km east of Rotterdam with the largest concentration of old windmills in the world! The 18th century windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the major tourist sites in the Netherlands and are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The best things in life are free: The windmills in Kinderdijk are located at a public road and can be visited for free!
History of the Kinderdijk windmills
The windmills in Kinderdijk have got a long history, that goes back to around 1740. The windmills were built to keep the inhabitants of the Kinderdijk polder dry. The mills played an important role as a pump to regulate the water level to protect Kinderdijk from flooding, as the most of the land in Kinderdijk is below sea level. Nowadays the windmills have been replaced by a fully automated water pump stations, but the windmills are still in a pretty good condition. The Kinderdijk windmills are still operational but serve other purposes.
Kinderdijk offers 19 historic windmills, which are located along the dikes and roads which are also used by the local villagers. The windmill park can be visited 24/7. At night the windmills are beautifully illuminated.”
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