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. Although some of the windmills are still used, the main water works are provided by two diesel pumping stations near one of the entrances of the windmills site.
Windmills at Kinderdijk
Descriptionedit
Windmills
Nederwaard Mill No.2
The 19 stone mills of the Netherlands 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.
List of windmillsedit
Nederwaard Mill No.6 pumping water from one canal to the next
The 1/25 scale miniature windmills of Kinderdijk (left) and Zaanse Schans B (right) in Tobu World Square, Japan.
The mills are listed as national monuments and the entire area is a protected village view since 1993. The mills were 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.
kinderdijk, windmills, group, monumental, windmills, alblasserwaard, polder, province, south, holland, netherlands, most, mills, part, village, kinderdijk, municipality, molenlanden, mill, blokker, part, municipality, alblasserdam, built, 1738, 1740, keep, wat. 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 Mill Network at Kinderdijk ElshoutUNESCO World Heritage SiteView of windmills at KinderdijkLocationMolenlanden Alblasserdam South Holland NetherlandsCriteriaCultural i ii iv Reference818Inscription1997 21st Session Area322 ha 800 acres Websitekinderdijk wbr comCoordinates51 52 57 N 4 38 58 E 51 88250 N 4 64944 E 51 88250 4 64944Location of Kinderdijk windmills in South HollandShow map of South HollandKinderdijk windmills Netherlands Show map of Netherlands Contents 1 History 2 Description 2 1 List of windmills 3 Modern day 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editKinderdijk 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 Although some of the windmills are still used the main water works are provided by two diesel pumping stations near one of the entrances of the windmills site nbsp Windmills at KinderdijkDescription edit nbsp Windmills nbsp Nederwaard Mill No 2The 19 stone mills of the Netherlands 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 List of windmills edit nbsp Nederwaard Mill No 6 pumping water from one canal to the nextThis is a list of the 19 mills 1 2 De NederwaardNederwaard Molen No 1 1738 Nederwaard Molen No 2 1738 Nederwaard Molen No 3 1738 Nederwaard Molen No 4 1738 Nederwaard Molen No 5 1738 Nederwaard Molen No 6 1738 Nederwaard Molen No 7 1738 Nederwaard Molen No 8 1738 De OverwaardOverwaard Molen No 1 1740 Overwaard Molen No 2 1740 1981 1984 Overwaard Molen No 3 1740 Overwaard Molen No 4 1740 Overwaard Molen No 5 1740 Overwaard Molen No 6 1740 Overwaard Molen No 7 1740 Overwaard Molen No 8 1740 Nieuw LekkerlandDe Hoge Molen 1740 Kleine of Lage Molen 1761 AlblasserdamDe Blokker 1630 1997 2001 nbsp Panoramic view of the Kinderdijk Windmills Modern day edit nbsp The 1 25 scale miniature windmills of Kinderdijk left and Zaanse Schans B right in Tobu World Square Japan The mills are listed as national monuments and the entire area is a protected village view since 1993 The mills were 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 See also editWind pump Zaanse SchansReferences edit Molens in Nederland De Nederlandse Molendatabase molendatabase nl Retrieved 2023 04 18 Database van Verdwenen Molens in Nederland www molendatabase org Retrieved 2023 04 18 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kinderdijk windmills Official website nbsp nbsp Kinderdijk travel guide from WikivoyagePortals nbsp Netherlands nbsp Architecture nbsp History Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kinderdijk windmills amp oldid 1178241786, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
