6 Amazing Facts about The Windmills at Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk, near Rotterdam, is home to some of the most well-known windmills in the Netherlands. Twenty windmills were built in the mid-1700s to pump water from nearby low-lying polders.

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The 19 surviving windmills became a symbol of Dutch water management over the centuries and are now a major tourist attraction. Here are six interesting facts about Kinderdijk and its famous windmills.

1. No one knows where the name “Kinderdijk” came from.

The most famous story behind the name Kinderdijk comes from a legend about a 1421 flood. Survivors discovered a floating cradle with a cat balancing on the edges and a happy baby nestled inside as the floodwaters receded. The area became known as the “Child’s dike” after that.

Perhaps the most popular explanation is not the most accurate. Other theories include that the dike was named after a local with many children, Jan der kindere (Jan with the kids); that the dike was simply lower than surrounding dikes, so it was referred to as the “child” dike; or that upon the death of a certain Mr Van der Giessen, his children inherited the (management of the) property. The true explanation may be lost to time!

2. Kinderdijk is a World Heritage Site that is under protection.

UNESCO added the Kinderdijk windmill network to its list of World Heritage sites in 1997. The listing praised them as an excellent example of “the outstanding contribution made by the people of the Netherlands” to water management technology.

Kinderdlijk is thus not only a physical monument of windmills in a man-made landscape, but also a symbolic monument to “human ingenuity and fortitude over nearly a millennium” in resisting, relying on, and working with water.

3. Count Floris V is responsible for the mills’ existence.

Count Floris V, who ruled medieval Holland, had grown tired of feuding lords and nobles over frequently flooded land. So, in 1277, he established the first water board, requiring the nobility to collaborate in order to maintain dry land. They were able to construct dikes, windmills, and other infrastructure to drain the land and reduce flooding by working together.

The windmills at Kinderdijk might not have been built or operated if it hadn’t been for the Overwaard and Nederwaard Water Boards.

4. Windmills are a marvel of modern water engineering.

Although they are impressive structures, the Kinderdijk mills cannot be blamed for keeping the local polders dry. They are actually part of a complex water management system that includes sluices, weirs, and basins. Even the river Lek’s low tide is required.

When their sails turned, the windmills pumped water up from polder channels into basins that held the water until low tide on the river Lek, when sluices could be opened to release the water. Gravity and clever timing do the work at this point in the process.

5. In WWII, the Kinderdijk windmills saved the day.

Even though the Kinderdijk mills were replaced by steam-powered, then diesel, and finally electric water pumps, they are still in good working order and can be used for display or in the event of a power outage at any time.

Due to diesel shortages during WWII, the Dutch were unable to generate enough power. As a result, they had to rely on wind power to keep their feet dry. The Dutch now generate 4% of their energy from modern wind turbines. On national and regional Mills Days, the historic mills at Kinderdijk can still be seen turning (Molendagen)

6. There are 10,000 tourists for every Kinderdijk resident.

Kinderdijk’s windmills are one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Netherlands. Kinderdijk is a small village of 60 permanent residents. Nonetheless, up to 600,000 visitors were drawn to the site of these historic mills in 2019. That means there were 10,000 visitors for every resident.

Topic: 6 Amazing Facts about The Windmills at Kinderdijk

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