Kinderdijk is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site!

We had a fascinating afternoon with our guide, a young woman whose parents and Grandparents were millers here at Kinderdijk. Throughout the week our guides on the various tours have talked about waterlevels. Today we finally understood how important the control of the waterlevels is here in The Netherlands.

40% of the country is below sea level and the level is dropping all the time. To prevent disastrous flooding, water has to be lifted up several metres and discharged into the sea. Windmills have been doing that here in The Netherlands for centuries. The technology has changed many times and nowadays the pumps are mainly powered by electricity.

The windmills are only used to boost the pumps occasionally.

There was a strong wind this afternoon and the sails were whipping round. It was quite frightening standing beneath them.

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from Shirley Horwich PLUS 2 minutes ago NOT YET RATED