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Kinderdijk Windmills
Kinderdijk is a small village 15 km east of Rotterdam witn the largest concentration of old windmills in the world! The 18th century windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best known tourist sites in the Netherlands and are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. You can walk along the dikes and see the 19 windmills that were built around 1740 to drain the Kinderdijk polder. These mills were very important to keep the area from being flooded because most of the Netherlands is below sealevel.
The mills kept the low-lying land dry by pumping water into a reservoir when the water had reached a certain level. The water in the reservoir could be released to the Lek river or pumped back again by other windmills whenever the water level was low enough. Nowadays the windmills have been replaced by a power-driven pumping engines but they are very well preserved. They are still operational but of little use for for drainage.
You can even visit one of the windmills yourself and learn how the Dutch kept their lowlands dry. No-one lives in the mill nowadays but you can feel how living in a mill must have been, because all the old pots and pans, wooden shoes and traditional tapestry that were used in the mill are still there.
So if you want understand why the Kinderdijk mills are one of the best visited tourist sites in the Netherlands, spend a day or half a day in the windmill park.
OPENING HOURS Kinderdijk Windmills
Kinderdijk is open all year long, day and night. The opening times for the visitor mill are the following:
Monday 9:30 - 17:30 hrs - last admission at 17:00 hrs Tuesday 9:30 - 17:30 hrs - last admission at 17:00 hrs Wednesday 9:30 - 17:30 hrs - last admission at 17:00 hrs Thursday 9:30 - 17:30 hrs - last admission at 17:00 hrs Friday 9:30 - 17:30 hrs - last admission at 17:00 hrs Saturday 9:30 - 17:30 hrs - last admission at 17:00 hrs Sunday 9:30 - 17:30 hrs - last admission at 17:00 hrs RATES Kinderdijk Windmills
A visit to the Kinderdijk windmill park is free. If you would like to see the visitor mill you will have to pay the following rates:
Children under 6 Free Ages 6 through 15 € 2,00 Ages 16 through 64 € 3,50 
DIRECTIONS Kinderdijk Windmills
Kinderdijk is located just outside Rotterdam at 15 km east. You can easily get there by taking bus 90 from Central Station to Kinderdijk and get out at the Molenkade stop. You could also do a 3 hours tour by boat from the Boompjeskade in Rotterdam.
If you come by car you need to take exit Alblasserdam at Highway A15 and follow direction Kinderdijk. You can park your car close to the windmill park but you will have to pay a fee of 5 euros. On Saturdays and Sundays you can park your car for free at the company car park of IHC Holland.
MORE INFORMATION Kinderdijk Windmills
More information can be found on the Kinderdijk internet site or by contacting them directly.
Website: www.kinderdijk.nl
E-mail: info@kinderdijk.nl
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