Dutch Windmills

A vast majority of the people who visit Holland are keen on seeing Dutch windmills as being part of the Dutch landscape. It almost seems as if windmills are one of many connotations individuals have with Holland. Not only do windmills beautifully contibrute to the Dutch landscape, but they are also very practical and needed.

Function of Dutch Windmills

Windmills in Holland have been used for many years. They were used to make flour from grain. In addition, the windmills were also used to drain the surrounding land from water and make sure the soil could be used for farming. In this way, windmills were used for many reasons and essential to the Dutch landscape. To this day about 1000 windmills remain in Holland. There used to be many more but with the invention of steam, electricity many windmills were no longer the most practical solution to certain challenges.

Zaanse Schans

The "Zaanse Schans" is an area in the Netherlands where a great number of windmills can be found. Clearly, this area is a popular tourist destination where people can enjoy the beautiful view and take marvelous photographs.    

 Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk is another well-known place in the Netherlands with a large concentration of windmills. The windmills of Kinderdijk are built to pump up the water from the low-lying polder. Almost all of them are ground sailors ( a type of windmill that pumps up water). At the bottom of each mill is a scoop wheel that raises the water, often with a height difference of 140 centimeters.