Enjoy from Middenbeemster

Cycling through the Beemster polder, you'll experience the meaning of the saying "God created the world, the Dutch made the Netherlands." The polder is crisscrossed with ditches, canals, and channels to regulate the water level. This unique and beautiful cultural-historical landscape of the Beemster Polder has even been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999! Around the year 1250, this area was still a lake with an open connection to the Zuiderzee. In 1612, the area was completely drained with the help of 50 polder mills. Afterward, the land was divided into rectangular plots, the pattern of which is still visible today.

Not only the polder, but also the Beemster villages still breathe their centuries-old history. You'll pass through Middenbeemster, the oldest village in this polder. The square was built in 1610 in the middle of the Beemster, hence the name. There are many national monuments in this village, some of which are protected townscapes. Among them, you'll see De Nachtegaal, a corn mill from the early eighteenth century.

Part of the route runs through Koggenland, whose name refers to the cogs of the Middle Ages. Such a cog usually consisted of four or five villages and formed a legal territory. In this region, too, the land was reclaimed with blood, sweat, and tears. You'll pass through several old villages so characteristic of this area, such as Grosthuizen, Bobeldijk, and Zuidermeer.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, all the polder mills in De Beemster were demolished and replaced by pumping stations. Fortunately, you'll still see a few historic polder mills along the way. The first one is near Spanbroek: the Westerveer, dating from 1873, which drained the low-lying Westerveerpolder. A little later, you'll pass the Hensbroek, dating from 1866.

In the flat, expansive landscape near the Schermervaart canal, you'll see three more polder mills standing in quick succession. Ondermolen O, Ondermolen K, and Bovenmolen G all date from 1633. The mills were part of a system of 38 mills used to drain the Schermer Polder.