Love for the windmills of Ammerstol, Nieuw-Lekkerland and Alblasserdam

When you think of Alblasserdam as a cyclist, you can hardly help but think of windmills. The vast peat area is intersected by ditches, canals and two small rivers: the Alblas and the Giessen. The area owes its characteristic, historical identity mainly to the many windmills along the Kinderdijk in Nieuw-Lekkerland. The windmills are on the World Heritage List and are characteristic of the area. All these windmills ensured that the excess water that reached the Alblasserwaard when flooding occurred was pumped up. It was then discharged into the river via locks. This even happened during the Second World War without electrical assistance. The nineteen windmills that you can find around the Kinderdijk are: Nederwaard No. 1, Nederwaard No. 2 (museum), Nederwaard No. 3, Nederwaard No. 4, Nederwaard No. 5, Nederwaard No. 6, Nederwaard No. 7 and Nederwaard No. 8. All these mills were built in 1738. They are beautiful, round, stone ground-sailers with an iron paddle wheel that drain the low bosom of the Nederwaard. Of the mills, number 8 is the only mill that has never been raised and therefore the rods of this ground-sailer are shorter than those of the rest. Overwaard No. 1, Overwaard No. 2, Overwaard No. 3, Overwaard No. 4, Overwaard No. 5, Overwaard No. 6, Overwaard No. 7 and Overwaard No. 8 are also impressive to see. These mills are also ground-sailers, but have an octagonal hull. In number 2, an accident with a gas cylinder occurred in 1981 and that mill burned down. The mill was rebuilt and officially put into operation by Prince Claus in 1985. The mills are used to drain the low basin of the Overwaard, but there are also a few mills in use as homes. The other mills around the Kinderdijk are De Blokker, the Hoge Molen and the Kleine Molen. All three are ground-sailing mills, but De Blokker, which is also called the Blokweerse Molen, is an odd one out, because it is a hollow post mill instead of a round stone mill or an octagonal one. The mills along the Kinderdijk are not the only mills you will encounter on your bike ride. Near Streefkerk is the mill De Liefde, a smock mill from 1893. The mill is also called'In Liefde Draaiende\\\' and was previously called'De Hoop\\\'. It is an octagonal smock mill from 1893, which has a wooden substructure. The Liefde was built to replace an octagonal ground sailer that went up in flames and was in operation until around 1970. The year of construction of the Kleine Molen, also called Kleine Tiendweg Molen, is unknown. What is known is that the hollow post mill used to be part of a mill run with three lower and two upper mills. It can be determined that the mill dates back to before 1751. The mill was restored in 1977/1978. The mill is still operational in the circuit, because the two upper mills that drained the water were destroyed by fire. The Achtkante Molen van Streefkerk was built around 1761. The mill is made of wood and covered with thatch. The mill was in operation until 1951 and was extensively restored in 1970/1971. It was made fully operational again and was able to run at full speed again in 1972. Nowadays the mill runs in circuit, because the water can no longer be pumped out. You will not only come across mills that are still in good condition, but you will also see mill ruins. The Regt (hull/remains) and the Fundering Sluismolen (hull/remains) are striking examples. The latter is the remains of a hollow post mill that burned down completely in June 1979. The damage was so great that it was never repaired, but the mill had already been dismantled earlier (in 1970) and had already lost its function. The foundation of the mill has been preserved as a national monument. During the second part of the route you will also come across a well-preserved mill run of three hollow post mills in Groot-Ammers: the Achterlandse Molen, the Graaflandse Molen, the Gelkenes Molen. It is believed that the mills were built around 1596 or even earlier. The three mills drained the Liesveld polder until 1965. The last mill on the route is the Achtkante Molen. This mill is also located in Groot-Ammers, but it stands out among the previous hollow post mills because of its shape. The mill from 1805 replaces a hollow post mill that burned down earlier that year. This mill also drained the Liesveld polder until the mid-1970s.