UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Location | Molenlanden, Alblasserdam, South Holland, Netherlands |
Criteria | Cultural: (i), (ii), (iv) |
Reference | 818 |
Inscription | 1997 (21st Session) |
Area | 322 ha (800 acres) |
Website | kinderdijk |
Coordinates | 51°52′57″N4°38′58″E / 51.88250°N 4.64944°E |
The Kinderdijk windmills are a group of 19 monumental windmills in the Alblasserwaard polder, in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Most of the mills are part of the village of Kinderdijk in the municipality of Molenlanden, and one mill, De Blokker, is part of the municipality of Alblasserdam. Built in 1738 and 1740, to keep water out of the polder, it is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands and one of the best-known Dutch tourist sites. The mills are listed as national monuments and the entire area is a protected village view since 1993. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, and as such are officially named as the Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout.
Kinderdijk lies in the Alblasserwaard, at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. In Alblasserwaard, problems with water became more and more apparent in the 13th century. Large canals, called "weteringen", were dug to get rid of the excess water in the polders. However, the drained soil started setting, while the level of the river rose due to the river's sand deposits. Most of the current mills were built in 1738 and 1740 (see below).
After a few centuries, an additional way to keep the polders dry was required. It was decided to build a series of windmills, with a limited capacity to bridge water level differences, but just able to pump water into a reservoir at an intermediate level between the soil in the polder and the river; the reservoir could be let out into the river through locks whenever the river level was low enough; the river level has both seasonal and tidal variations. During the nineteenth century sinking land and rising water levels required more water pumping capacity than the mills could provide. The Nederwaard and Overwaard water boards (both of which owned and operated a row of the mills) had steam powered pumping stations built. By the 1920s one of these was electrified, while the other received diesel powered engines. The brick Nederwaard windmills were decommissioned, although the millers and their families were allowed to continue to inhabit them. Fuel shortage during World War II briefly forced the water boards to return to wind powered water pumping, which proved to be the last hurrah for the windmills. After the war all mills were decommissioned and the millers released from their contracts. By this time there was already an appreciation for the windmills' picturesque charm, which led to resistance (even at the level of national politics) when the Overwaard water board formulated plans to demolish the eight octagonal mills. The Kinderdijk windmills were already a tourist destination by then. The first museum mill (now museum mill Nederwaard) opened during the 1950s.
Today the windmills are still kept in working order, but they are no longer used for water management. The main water works are provided by two electric pumping stations near one of the entrances of the windmills site.
The eight brick mills of the Nederwaard were built in 1738, the wooden mills of the Overwaard in 1740. The former move the drainage water from the lower polders of the Alblasserwaard into a reservoir, the latter that from the higher polders. Both reservoirs used to drain in turn into the river Lek by means of locks during low river water levels; nowadays modern pumping stations are in place.
This is a list of the 19 mills: [1] [2]
The mills are listed as national monuments and the entire area is a protected village view since 1993. The Kinderdijk-Elshout complex (which includes the mills) was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the 21st session of the World Heritage Committee in 1997. The mills are property of the Kinderdijk World Heritage Foundation.
Alblasserdam is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It covers an area of 10.06 km2 (3.88 sq mi), of which 1.28 km2 (0.49 sq mi) is water, and has a population of 20,136 as of 2021. Alblasserdam is officially a part of the Drechtsteden region. A portion of the small village of Kinderdijk, which boasts the largest and most famous concentration of windmills in the Netherlands, is part of Alblasserdam.
Nieuw-Lekkerland is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is situated on the southern shores of the Lek River, in the north-west of the Alblasserwaard.
Kinderdijk is a village in the municipality of Molenlanden, in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located about 15 km east of Rotterdam.
The Alblasserwaard is a polder in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, located near the village of Kinderdijk in the polder's northwestern part.
Jantina Hellingmolen is a smock mill in Aalden, Netherlands. The mill is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 41518.
De Sweachmermolen is a smock mill between Langweer and Boornzwaag, Friesland, Netherlands which was built in 1782. The mill has two functions: it is a drainage mill and a corn mill. It has been restored to working order as a drainage mill and is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 13241.
De Kleilânsmole was a smock mill which formerly stood in Marrum, Friesland, Netherlands and which was built in 1865 and dismantled in 2010. The mill had been restored as a landmark. The mill was listed as a Rijksmonument, number 15597.
The city of Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands has had at least 130 windmills over the centuries. Only one, the Froskepôlemolen survives today within Leeuwarden. Six other mills which have stood in Leeuwarden survive elsewhere in the Netherlands. The mills had a wide range of industrial and agricultural uses. The industrial uses include the processing of bark for tanning leather, the fulling of cloth, the production of cement, the production of dyes, the extraction of oil, the grinding of tobacco to produce snuff, the production of gunpowder, and the sawing of timber. Agricultural uses include the milling of buckwheat, oats, rye and wheat, the processing of chicory, the production of pearl barley, and the pumping of water.
De Marsummermolen English: The mill of Marssum is a smock mill in Marsum, Friesland, Netherlands which was built in 1903. The mill has been restored to working order and is used as a training mill. It is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 28624.
The Terpensmole is a drainage mill in IJlst, Friesland, Netherlands. It was moved from its earlier location in Sneek in 2011 where it was known as the Himmole. The mill is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 22914. It is fully functional and can be used to help drain the adjacent polder.
Terpzigt is a drainage mill in Marssum, Friesland, Netherlands. It is the smallest spinnenkop, a type of hollow post windmill. The mill is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 8625.
The spinnenkop of the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Arnhem is a small drainage mill originally located near Gorredijk, Friesland, Netherlands. It is a hollow post windmill that has been restored to working order.
Molenwaard is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the southeastern part of the province of South Holland, and the northwestern part of the region of Alblasserwaard. It was the result of a merger of the municipalities of Graafstroom, Liesveld, and Nieuw-Lekkerland on 1 January 2013. On 1 January 2019 it merged with Giessenlanden, together they form the new municipality of Molenlanden. Molenwaard had about 29,000 inhabitants and an area of about 126 km2 (49 sq mi). The largest settlements are Bleskensgraaf, Groot-Ammers, and Nieuw-Lekkerland.
De Kievit is a smock mill in Menaam, Friesland, Netherlands which was built in 1802. The mill has been restored to working order. It is listed as a Rijksmonument.
The Klaarkampstermeermolen or Klaarkampstermolen is a polder windmill in Rinsumageast, Friesland, the Netherlands. Built in 1862 the smock mill was relocated to its current position in 1893 and has been restored several times. Worked by volunteers it still drains the Klaarkampstermeer as of 2022. The mill is listed as a Rijksmonument since 1970 and can be visited by appointment.
The smock mill at the Netherlands Open Air Museum, Arnhem, Gelderland, Netherlands was originally built at Noordlaren, Groningen, Netherlands in 1862. It was dismantled in 1953 and re-erected at the museum in 1960. The mill has been restored to working order.
A hollow post mill at the Netherlands Open Air Museum, Arnhem, Gelderland, Netherlands was originally built at Gouda, South Holland, Netherlands. It was dismantled in 1946 and re-erected at the museum. The mill has been restored to working order.
The Westuit Nr. 7, also called the Koggemolen, is a windmill on the Kolkweg in Aartswoud, Netherlands that has been restored to working order. It is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 31787. The mill is to the south of the Westfriesedijk just outside Aartswoud. It is owned by Stichting de Westfriese Molens.
De Olde Molen, also known as Old Dutch Windmill, The Mill, or Alte Mühle is a non-operational octagonal smock mill with a stage reconstructed in 1961 in Bubali, Aruba. Since then, it has been serving as a restaurant and a windmill museum.
Nederwaard Molen No.1 is one of the Kinderdijk windmills, in the Dutch municipality of Molenlanden. The mill, which dates from 1738, is inhabited and cannot be visited. The owner is the Kinderdijk World Heritage Foundation. The mill has an iron paddle wheel with a diameter of 6.30 meters with which the low basin of the Nederwaard is drained. The mill has sagged over the years and probably around 1870 a buttress was built against the hull on the northeastern side to prevent further sagging.