Kinderdijk

The Netherlands is famous for its windmills. Today there are still more than 1.000 mills. Nowhere in the world you will find as many windmills as near (the Dutch village) Kinderdijk. Around 1740 no less than 19 sturdy mills were built here. They have been well preserved to the present day. The mills drain the excess water from the Alblasserwaard polders - which are situated below sea-level - after which the water is sluiced into the river Lek. The powerful mill sails serve to transmit the force of the wind on to large paddle-wheels which scoop up the water. Nowadays power-driven pumping engines do the job, including one of the largest water screw pumping-station in Europe The foundation "Wereld Erfgoed Kinderdijk" maintains and preserves the windmills in Kinderdijk. The preservation is not limited to the windmills themselves, but also covers the area in which the windmills are situated. The foundation makes use of funds from the government and the members of the foundation each contribute to the cost of maintenance. Additional sponsoring should take care of reducing the backlog of repairs. In 1997 the mills of Kinderdijk were put on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.