Kinderdijk

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Feel yourself as the hero of the novel "Silver Skates", splitting the perfectly smooth surface of the frozen canal in winter, or famously winding pedals along one old mill after another in summer, perhaps only in Kinderdijk - a miniature and terribly cozy village nearby from Rotterdam The village of Kinderdijk, located in the province of South Holland, is famous for its amazing complex of 19 windmills built in the 18th century. If you want to see as many mills as possible in one place, then Kinderdijk is what you need.

The village received its name, in the translation from the Dutch meaning "children's dam," after the incident, which tells the legend . B distant in 1421 after a severe flood, which is not uncommon in the Netherlands, the territory of drained plots (polders) was flooded . When the water was gone, the residents went to see if something survived after the floods . Suddenly they saw floating on the water cradle . As it approaches it was found that the cradle is balancing, jumping from one edge to the other, a cat . What was their surprise when they saw in a cradle that had fallen to the shore, a peacefully sleeping baby!

In winter, when the channel freezes, ice skaters come out on the ice. Ice skating on frozen canals is one of the favorite entertainments of local residents

There are as many 19 mills as it is not accidental . As you know, many of the lands of the Netherlands (the very name of the "Lower Lands" - tells us this) are below sea level , which expose these territories to the constant danger of flooding . Kinderdijk - just one of such places . In order to stop flooding, the inhabitants have to constantly hard and laborious work: to build dams and dig artificial canals, thereby draining flooded plots tki . It should also be taken into account that the village is already at the confluence of two rivers: Lek and Nord, which were flooded endlessly and with impudent streams poured into each house . Therefore it was necessary to build a complex of mills capable of retaining water at the right level . So there were nineteen famous mills now on the UNESCO World Heritage List .

Kinderdijk

Mills are located on both sides of the canal. At the entrance to the park there is a map showing the sights. One of the mills can enter and get acquainted with its bizarre device.

There is a rent-and-e-bike office near the park where you can rent a bicycle.

In winter, when the canal freezes, ice skaters come out on the ice. Ice skating on the frozen canals is one of the favorite entertainments of local residents. If you want, you can join them, or simply stiffen in a mute admiration for the kind of old "enemies of Don Quixote", the frozen surface of the canal and the figures moving along it, as if they had just come down from the pages of the novel "Silver Skates."

How to get there

It's the most convenient to get to Kinderdijk from Rotterdam (about 15 kilometers). From the main railway station of Rotterdam and the station Zuidplein shuttle buses run every day. By car: take the A16 motorway, then take the A15 exit.

But the most interesting and fastest way, available only in the summer, is a walk on a ferry from Rotterdam, on the road for about twenty minutes.

Mills in Kinderdijk

House in Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk Fields