This photo featured on Explore Sep 28 2008, thank you!!!
The famous windmills at Kinderdijk. People from all over the world visit this world heritage site, yet I had never been before. Really needed to put that straight, so here you go ;-)
Kinderdijk is a small town near Rotterdam, situated in an area called the Alblasserwaard. This part of the Netherlands lies below sea-level, and has a history of floods.
The 19 windmills of Kinderdijk were built around 1740. Their purpose was to pump the excess water into a reservoir until the level of the river had reached a level that pumping the water into the river (called the Lek) was possible again. Since 1927 a diesel pumping station does the real job. The windmills were used for the last time during the second World War, when the mechanical pumps could not be used any more due to fuel shortages.
During the summer months, the mills are put back in operation again to please the tourists. In one of the windmills a small museum is established with an exhibition about how miller-families lived. You can also walk or cycle along the canals and river to take a closer look at the mills and enjoy the landscape.
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