Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage sight that contains 19 working windmills from 1738-1740. http://www.kinderdijk.nl/ On Saturday afternoons in July and August, all mills are supposedly in operation. Most of the time, only the visitors mill is spinning. Since we were running out of August, we decided to head on over. After much investigation, the area is only accessible by car from where we live. The ferry took us across the Lek to the parking area.
The Kinderdijk area has been inhabited since the 10th or 11th century. People reclaimed the peat and developed the area by digging ditches and watercourses. Originally the water drained off naturally. As the ground set and the water level rose in the rivers, it was necessary to keep the area dry via dikes and sliuces. By 1366, a system of reservoirs was created at the lowest part. This would hold the superfluous water with the use of sluices. From around 1400 the water level could be kept lower with watermills. Following serious water problems in 1726, 8 round stone were built on the Nederwaard in 1738. Two years later the same number of octagonal thatched mills was built on the opposite side at Overwaard. The reservoirs could be drained when water levelin the Lek was low. In 1868 steam pumping stations were built. Now, you see the modern pumping stations that control the water at Kinderdijk when you reach the site. We saw this haystack with goat on top as we walked into the area.
We arrived just in time to watch many of the mills start-up. During our visit we saw up to 15 mills turning at once. Pretty magnificent, considering these were built in around 1740. We walked to the visitor's mill to check out the inside of a watermill. Jim and Miles examine the impressive 28-m wingspan of the mill. The mill is up on a dike. We sat on an old blade post and ate our lunch, next to the whooshing sound of the blades turning. You could hear the creaking with the wind too; at times the windmill was really going fast. We got some great video [yet to figure out where to post that] standing below the blades as they cut right by your head. Frightening really. There was only a flimsey fence to get you from getting your head knocked off.
The visitor's mill was up on a dike with a grassy area down the side. This was the view at ground level. After our trip inside, Miles entertained and provided photo ops to several tourists as he and Eliot crawled up the hill and then ran down. Miles though got to the top and backed down partway; then awkwardly turned and tumbled down the rest of the dike. It was a hoot to watch.
posted by Whitney @ 12:06 PM
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