European Trip 35: Kinderdijk, Holland

Saturday 26th October 2024 (day 43)

For the last few days, whilst travelling south through Holland, it has been with the knowledge that we are on our way home. We sail from Rotterdam to Hull tomorrow evening.

Our park-up last night and also for tonight, is to the east of Rotterdam and handy for the port. It is also handy for the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kinderdijk, where there are 19 windmills, built to manage the water levels by using wind to power water-pumps. Most of them are sited along the top of dikes, transferring water from one side to the other.

We cycled from the “Camperpark” to explore the area. It is beautiful and we had a really nice day to do it justice.

Most of the mills appear to have been built in the early 1700s.

The UNESCO status seems to have brought commercialisation and many visitors to the area. There is a visitor centre, exhibition and gift shop/cafe. You can also take a trip on one of the passenger barges.

Of course, with so many mills around, I found it difficult to resist taking photographs. Many provided lovely reflections:

Not all the mills were built to manage water levels. This one was built as a grain mill:

Over the years, the windmills stopped being used to pump water, but some are still operational and can be seen working. In the 19th century they installed a coal powered steam engine to do the job in the building below:

Just wandering near the visitor centre, we came across this sculpture in the water:

It commemorates an event that happened on St Elizabeth’s Day, the 19th November 1421, when there was disastrous flooding here in Kinderdijk, with huge loss of life. A baby was found, floating in a cradle. Also in the cradle was a cat that kept the cradle balanced and afloat, by jumping back and forth.

There is so much water here, that boats are regularly used instead of cycles. We did see one example of both being used:

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So ends the last full day of our European Trip this autumn. We have thoroughly enjoyed it. So TTFN. See you later.

PS: If you double-click on any of the images in my posts, they should open larger in a new tab of your browser (on a PC anyway). Have fun.