Volendam is a former fishing village that has been turned into an international tourist attraction. A wide variety of fishing boats and yachts can be seen in the port of this old fishing village. No less famous is the Volendam fish auction - here you can buy delicious smoked eel and the freshest herring.
Volendam is famous for the beauty of folk costumes. Women wear sweaters with pleats, blue or black stripes, over a seven-colored skirt called "zevenklurige rock". But most feature The costume is a headdress: it almost completely covers the face and resembles a medieval helmet. The men wear short jackets with silver buttons cinched at the waist, puffy black pantaloons and round hats.
lovers active rest in Volendam you can go in for tennis, fishing, windsurfing, yachting and canoeing, hiking and cycling. Since the city is located near the water and on the water, vacationers make boat trips along the harbor to see this amazing fairy-tale settlement from the sea.
At the end of the 19th century, Volendam was very popular place among the Impressionist painters. In the local hotel "Spaander" they often paid with their paintings. Today, these works, which are over 100 years old, can be seen on the walls of the hotel.
Catherina Hoeve Cheese Farm
Cheese is one of those national Dutch products with deep historical roots. In the village of Zaanse Schans, located near Amsterdam, a real cheese factory has been preserved, keeping the ancient secrets of making the legendary Dutch cheese.
Here, cheese is brewed according to ancient recipes of Dutch masters and not only from cow's milk, but also from goat's and sheep's milk. The value of cheese is also due to the high consumption of milk: 1 kg of cheese requires at least 10 liters.
The variety of assortment will surprise even the most demanding gourmet. Visitors are given a unique opportunity to taste and purchase dozens of cheeses of different varieties: from classic to exclusive. Soft and hard cheeses, smoked, with various additives (nuts, spices, garlic, herbs, etc.)
Visiting the cheese factory is free for everyone.
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City of Mills Zaanse Schans
The city of mills - Zaanse Schans - is located just half an hour from Amsterdam. In this city, all the architecture is typically Dutch.
Today, this town is a tourist reserve, which contains the oldest exhibits, and some of them still house cheese dairies and workshops for making klomps. Here, in almost every house there are small museums, restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops that attract many tourists. For rich and especially wealthy tourists, renting any of the presented houses is available, in which you can feel like a true Dutchman of bygone centuries. Also in this town, windmills operate daily, crushing peanut butter or sawing logs.
In the 18th century, there were more than 1,000 windmills in the city, of which only 6 remained active. Inside the mills, you can even chat with the miller and learn about the intricacies of his work or about the history of the city and each house.
Klomps are the national wooden shoes of the Dutch, which is one of the symbols of this country. Originally from the Middle Ages, klomps are still in demand by some residents of Holland. They are worn by peasants who value high strength and practicality in clogs. Klomps are comfortable to put on and wear, and the foot in a wooden shoe is reliably protected from cuts and bruises.
In the town of Zaanse Schans there is a museum with the largest collection of klomps. There are simple shoes without patterns for everyday wear, as well as painted shoes that the Dutch wear on holidays. Some samples can be called works of art. A person wearing klomps used to be recognized by a unique ornament peculiar to a particular place in Holland.
In the museum building there is a workshop where klomps are made. Previously, they were cut by hand, but now they use a sophisticated technique in production, thanks to which the shoes are made in a matter of minutes right in front of the eyes of visitors.
The national shoes of the Dutch can be purchased as a keepsake in a small souvenir shop: the choice is very rich. It also sells interesting accessories made of wood of different species.
The museum is open from April to September daily from 8:00 to 18:30, from October to March from 9:00 to 17:00. The entrance is free.
The most popular attractions in Volendam with descriptions and photos for every taste. Choose the best places to visit famous places Volendam on our website.
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Mills in Kinderdijk
On the way from Amsterdam to Bruges, we passed Rotterdam and stopped at Kinderdijk.
Almost half of the territory of the Netherlands (Holland) has been reclaimed from the water with the help of dams and windmills, driving pumps to pump out water and drain areas near the dams.
Around 1740, a system of 19 windmills was built in Kinderdijk to drain polders (drained and cultivated low-lying coastal areas). This group of mills is this moment largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. Windmills in Kinderdijk are one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Netherlands.
The system didn't work very well. Periodically the land was flooded. By the way, in 1927, a diesel pumping station was built in place of the mills. And during the Second World War, the mills again served for the benefit of the Netherlands - there was not enough fuel for the station.
Please note that all mills have a turret in order to have maximum efficiency regardless of wind direction.
But all Kinderdijk mills are out of order. As you can see in the photo, there is no stretched material on the blades. Mills in working condition can be seen in Zaanstad.
Windmills of Zaanstad
As I already wrote, we tried to get to Zaanstad on bicycles, but by the will of fate we did not succeed, and we got to this tourist center by car. Zaanstad is notable for the fact that there is a museum under open sky Zaanse Schans, one of the best places in the Netherlands to see windmills in operation.
The industrial activity of the town is mainly due to the presence of wind and the mills of the 17th century were modern factories. In the old days, about 1000 (!!!) mills functioned here, but only 13 have survived to this day. Many mills are still operating! Mustard is crushed on one, cocoa beans on the other. Mill products can be bought directly in the building of the windmill.
All parts of the mill are made of wood. By the way, the windmills have a turning tower! It serves to deploy the blades at an optimal angle to the wind, and get maximum performance.
The town of Zaanse Schans is also famous for the fact that the Russian tsar, the innovator Peter I, studied shipbuilding there. The house in which the sovereign lived was wooden, at the moment dressed in a stone structure. Unfortunately, we didn't get to it. But Peter the Great lived in it for only a week. By the way, one of the reasons why Holland became a mighty maritime power is that one master came up with the idea of using mills to make boards for the production of ships. Allegedly, this reduced the cost of building ships by 40 times !!!
Around the mills there are pastures where various living creatures graze. Pastoral paintings everywhere you look. Just keep clicking the shutter. By the way, Zaanstad, as it was, remains to this day an industrial center, in the background of photographs, not far from tourist place you can see modern factories.
All in all, this is another must-visit place in Holland. Theoretically, in the absence of strong winds and in good weather, one can get there by bicycle from Amsterdam.
20% of the Netherlands is below sea level, and 50% of the territory is only one meter or less above sea level. The whole history of the Netherlands is the history of the struggle between man and the sea. And despite the dedication and amazing tenacity of the people, man was not always the winner in this endless struggle.
Therefore, the drainage system is of particular importance in Holland. Since ancient times, residents have needed an advanced water level management system in order to save large areas from flooding.
For the Alblasserwaard polder, this problem became relevant as early as the 13th century. In order to get rid of excess water, it was dug a large number of artificial channels. However, while the drained soil was just beginning to harden, the river level was raised by river sand.
A few centuries later, a new way was needed to keep the polders dry. In this connection, it was decided to build a series of windmills capable of pumping water and keeping it in the inner basin at an intermediate level between the level of the polders and the water level in the river.
These mills are well preserved to this day and they are located in the town of Kinderdijk near Rotterdam.
Parking at the entrance is paid - 5 euros, regardless of the duration. Entrance to the wind park is free. It is quite possible to come from Rotterdam by bike, the distance there is about 20-25 km. A beautiful and detailed plan of the object hangs at the entrance.
And although the place is touristic, it is very beautiful and unusual. Walking here is a pleasure. The real Holland is a flat area to the horizon, a lot of water, a lot of mills, one of which even spins. The place where the prevailing stereotype coincides with the surrounding reality.
All these windmills were not used to produce flour, but to pump water. Wind energy is transmitted through a system of shafts and gears to a water wheel, which, due to rotation, pumps water from one channel to another, then the water enters the river, the level of which here is higher than the surface of the earth.
There are physical limits on the height to which one mill can raise water, so the mills were often installed in cascades - each successive mill raises water higher than the previous one. In the 16th century, this technology was a real breakthrough and allowed to solve the age-old problem of drainage. Why what, and the wind North Sea plenty in Holland.
The mills are excellently preserved, and may just be restored.
This mill is operational, the blades rotate and you can go there to see how it all works.
1738! The blades rotate with a whistle, the power of wind energy is felt.
To set the optimal position of the wind wheel depending on the direction of the wind, the upper part of the mill can be rotated using a special mechanism. It is also interesting inside, everything rotates and works, the sound of water is heard below - the mill pumps water. The atmosphere of the 18th century is recreated in the premises.
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Most of the Netherlands is flat.
Nowadays, instead of windmills, electric or diesel pumping stations are used, which pump water around the clock. It is surprising that at this pumping station, the pumps are not driven by electric motors, but by diesel engines like ship or diesel locomotives.
It is probably an expensive pleasure to pump water with diesel engines, which have a limited motor resource, and fuel in our time is not cheap. Although it is quite possible that this is just a backup station, which is put into operation when the main ones fail, or if there are sudden power outages.
Kinderdijk (originally Kinderdijk) is a small cozy village in the Netherlands. It gained worldwide fame thanks to the old windmills that were built here in the 18th century, but are still in operation.
Where is Kinderdijk
The village is nestled 10 km southeast of Rotterdam and 60 km from Amsterdam at the confluence of the Nord (west) and Lek (north) rivers.
Geographic coordinates 51.884643, 4.639409
Why are there windmills here?
Mills in Kinderdijk are not used for their usual purpose. They do not produce flour, but pump water.
As you know, the name Netherlands in translation means "low lands". In other words, large areas of the country lie below sea level. Of course, not like the Dead Sea, but nonetheless. There is always the possibility of flooding.
To lower the water level, windmills were built in the area. They pump water out of the polders into the sea.
Polders are dry, low-lying areas that often lie below sea level. In addition, these are extremely fertile lands.
To drain the land from 1738 to 1740, a system of 19 mills was built. They then pumped out water, using wind energy to operate water pumps.
It is the mills that help drain the lowlands here. This is the largest collection of old windmills in the country and a popular tourist destination. Since 1997 they have been included in the list world heritage UNESCO.
A bit of history
Once upon a time, the Netherlands (or rather, the modern two provinces known to us as Holland) were a powerful maritime power. Therefore, they tried to use all coastal lands. Many areas were protected by dams, but there was always a high possibility of groundwater flooding.
In this region, problems with flooding became apparent as early as the 13th century, as the surrounding areas were marshland. Initially, large canals called "weteringen" were dug here. They helped to lower the water level in the polders, but it was not possible to drain large areas with their help. Only a few centuries later, it was decided to build a complex of mills for drainage here.
At one time, there were about 150 windmills in the surrounding areas of Alblasservard and Vijfherlenland. In the 1870s, their number decreased to 78. Now only 28 of these mills remain in the entire region. 19 of them are concentrated in the village of Kinderdijk.
In 1868, the steam engine came to the aid of windmills. In 1924, steam engines were replaced by diesel ones.
Although the windmills were replaced with more efficient diesel pumps, they are still in good condition to this day. This is a fallback in case of breakdown of diesel pumps. But the last time they were used for their intended purpose was during the Second World War. Then diesel pumps did not work due to interruptions in fuel supply.
Stone and wooden mills
Eight stone mills called Nederwaard were built in 1738. Wooden mills are called Overwaard. They were built in 1740. Nederwaard mills pump water from the lower sections of the polders to one reservoir, while Overwaard mills pump water from higher polders to another reservoir. Both reservoirs used to be used to drain water into the Lek River with the help of special locks. Today, modern pumping stations operate here.
The legend of Kinderdijk village
The name of the village can be translated as "children's dam". An old legend is connected with the appearance of this name.
During the severe flood of St. Elizabeth in November 1421, the polders were flooded. After the storm subsided, people decided to assess the damage and left their shelters. Approaching the water that flooded the neighborhood, they saw a slowly floating cradle. At first, a cat appeared from it. She tried her best to keep the balance of her ship and gracefully jumped around the edges of the cradle. But what was their surprise when it was discovered that a living baby was lying inside an absolutely dry cradle.
Such a miracle has become a symbol of hope and life for the locals.
In the evening, the mills are illuminated The mills of Kiderdijk in tourism
Now these places are quite famous among travelers. Sometimes in the summer the mills start working again. But only to show tourists a kind of attraction.
There is a museum in one mill that acquaints visitors with the principle of operation of mill water pumps. In addition, the mill is quite roomy. Miller Hook's family lived there with thirteen children. You will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the life and way of life of this family.
Whole families lived in mills In the visitor center you can see the old Wiesboom pumping station, which was replaced by the Overwaard pumping station in 1995. It uses impressive Archimedean screws to pump water.
On the reservoirs you can ride a pleasure boat. The duration of the trip is up to half an hour.
But in winter, the reservoirs turn into an excellent skating rink.
The mills of Kinderdijk will especially appeal to photographers, because amazing and unique shots are obtained here.
Vivid examples of the work of professional photographers 20% of the Netherlands is below sea level, and 50% of the territory is only one meter or less above sea level.
The whole history of the Netherlands is the history of the struggle between man and the sea.
And despite the dedication and amazing tenacity of the people, man was not always the winner in this endless struggle. Therefore, the drainage system is of particular importance in Holland.
Since ancient times, residents have needed an advanced water level management system in order to save large areas from flooding.
For the Alblasserwaard polder, this problem became relevant as early as the 13th century. In order to get rid of excess water, a large number of artificial channels were dug. However, while the drained soil was just beginning to harden, the river level was raised by river sand. A few centuries later, a new way was needed to keep the polders dry. In this connection, it was decided to build a series of windmills capable of pumping water and keeping it in the inner basin at an intermediate level between the level of the polders and the water level in the river. These mills are well preserved to this day and they are located in the town of Kinderdijk near Rotterdam.
Parking at the entrance is paid - 5 euros, regardless of the duration. Entrance to the wind park is free. But since there seems to be no convenient way to get here except by car, the parking fee is an entrance fee in disguise. Although it is probably quite possible to come from Rotterdam by bike, the distance there is about 20-25 km. A beautiful and detailed plan of the object hangs at the entrance, the same plan is handed over by the parking attendant after accepting money for parking.
And although the place is touristic, it is very beautiful and unusual. Walking here is a pleasure. The real Holland is flat to the horizon, a lot of water, a lot of mills, one of which even spins! The place where the prevailing stereotype coincides with the surrounding reality :)
All these windmills were not used to produce flour, but to pump water. Wind energy is transmitted through a system of shafts and gears to a water wheel, which, due to rotation, pumps water from one channel to another, then the water enters the river, the level of which here is higher than the surface of the earth. There are physical limits on the height to which one mill can raise water, so the mills were often installed in cascades - each successive mill raises water higher than the previous one. In the 16th century, this technology was a real breakthrough and allowed to solve the age-old problem of drainage. So what, and there is plenty of wind from the North Sea in Holland.
The mills are excellently preserved, and may just be restored.
This photo clearly shows the water supply to the mill.
This mill is operational, the blades rotate and you can go there to see how it all works.
You have to pay a few euros for entry.
1738! The blades rotate with a whistle, the power of wind energy is felt. If this touches a person, then it will not seem enough.
To set the optimal position of the wind wheel depending on the direction of the wind, the upper part of the mill can be rotated using a special mechanism. It is also interesting inside, everything rotates and works, the sound of water is heard below - the mill pumps water. The atmosphere of the 18th century is recreated in the premises.
input channel.
Most of the Netherlands is flat.
Nowadays, instead of windmills, electric or diesel pumping stations are used, which pump water around the clock. I was surprised that at this pumping station the pumps are driven not by electric motors but by diesel engines like ship or diesel locomotives. It’s probably an expensive pleasure to pump water with diesel engines that have a limited motor resource, and fuel in our time is not cheap. Although it is quite possible that this is just a backup station, which is put into operation when the main ones fail, or if there are sudden power outages.
