Kinderdijk Children's Route - Mill Route

The windmills are high on the list of style icons of the typical Dutch landscape. This characteristic, historical identity is mainly due to the windmills in Kinderdijk. The nineteen windmills are world famous and are included in the Unesco World Heritage List. The ingenious water management system originated in the years 1738-1740. It consisted of nineteen windmills that are divided into a row of eight round stone ground sails on the Nederwaard, and a row of eight thatched octagons on the Overwaard, with a seesaw mill next to it. The mills worked independently for a century, it was not until 1838 that the Kinderdijk mills received help from the first steam pumping stations.

The Fourth Mill of the Overwaard, the Contra Mill, is truly unique. There is only one mill in the world that could grind both ways. Before that, the mill had a double watercourse and two paddle wheels. One for low to high, another for high to low.

The nature around Kinderdijk is extremely diverse. Birds fly everywhere, amphibians crawl, fish swim and mustelids prowl. Special plant finds are made regularly, and the insect population is also immense.