Along the Nieuwe Waterweg and the greenhouses of the Westland

Maassluis was founded around 1340 as a small settlement, which mainly lived from fishing. In the nineteenth century, Maassluis became world famous for a towing company and the activities on the water expanded to include ship salvage, for example. The National Towing Museum can still be found in the town, but a company has also established itself there that has been providing information services in and around the port of Rotterdam since 1872.

But you also see a lot of Hoek van Holland, where most of the sights of this tour can be admired. During your bike ride you will learn more about Het Keringhuis/Maeslantkering at Het Keringhuis, Public Center Water. Flood protection is highlighted here in an original way. An exciting exhibition provides more information about Dutch water policy and the final piece of the Delta Works, the impressive Maeslantkering, is located at the Keringhuis. This is the largest movable storm surge barrier in the world!

The Fort aan den Hoek van Holland is also located in Hoek van Holland. This former armored fort was built in 1881 and the Dutch Coastal Defense Museum has been housed in the fort since 1987. The fortress had to protect the Nieuwe Waterweg against an enemy fleet and could also defend the beach in the event of an invasion. The defense was equipped with six guns, which were positioned in one of the three revolving armored turrets. Although the Netherlands remained neutral during the First World War, the fort was made ready for combat. During the Second World War there was real fighting around the fort, and after the Dutch capitulation the Germans used the fortress. The domes, guns and all other metal were removed from the fort at that time and were melted down in German industry.

This octagonal tower mill was built in 1908 on the south side of the village. The mill ran on wind power and ground grain until the 1960s, but after it came to a standstill it quickly fell into disrepair. The mill body with its zinc slate covering is particularly rare. These were installed during a restoration in 2001/2002.