HOLLAND MILLS
Holland is usually known for two particular aspects: the tulips and the windmills.

Most part of the existent mills date back to 700 or to 800 and in all the country they could be counted more than thousands, most of them are concentrated in Kinderdijk town; in fact, it’s said that near the XVIII century, about nineteen mills were built, lined up in two lines, one opposite the other. Today the mills are part of the historical heritage  of the nation and they are kept in good conditions and restored by the government and privates, as much as  it  is possible. For this reason, a lot of them are still in function and they are used for the production of the local product, as private habitation and most of them are open to the public for guided visits. Moreover, the importance of the mills for the Dutch history received a recognition on the world level; in fact, from the 1997, just Kinderdijk’s mills are signed on the UNESCO world heritage list.
Windmills were used first and foremost to pump excess water from the polders, but they were also useful for the milling and the production of some local products. In the past the mills were often a point of reference for the nearest area. In fact, with the position of the windmill blades, the community was kept up to date with all the events and with the latest news. For example, in case of  cheerful events, the blades were on the “coming” position, or rather, the miller stopped them before the upright blade reached the highest position. In case of mourning, the blades were kept “going”, that is to say, the upright blade was stopped when it had just passed over the highest point. If ,instead, the blades were positioned exactly in horizontal and in upright position , the miller informed that he would restart work in short time.  Finally, during the Second World War, the mills were used for the transmission of encoded messages and to warn in case of  coming cops. Not everybody knows that there are some particular days dedicated entirely to the discovery  of the mills.
In fact, the National Mills Day is very popular; it is celebrated on the second week of May, during which the mills are lighted up in the course of the night; the blades are positioned “in the centre” and during the day more than six-hundred mills are opened to the people and the miller shows the inside, the mechanic section and its functioning. The mills open to the visitors are recognisable from the blue pennant exposed outside. The National Mills Day has been founded with a charity purpose. While, particularly in the same Kinderijk, each Saturday, during July and August, mills are put in operation in the same way as times ago. The seventy-six blades, twenty-eight metres high each, stand up to the wind and start wheeling again: it  recreates the suggestive atmosphere, which reminds us of the Holland of a time.

 

Here there are some of the most beautiful and the best known mills in Holland:


 

“DE ZAANSE SCHANS”
Zaanse Schans mills are situated near the river Zaan, an area characteristic for the architectural style of the houses, for the small dockyard, for the workshops which make clogs. Without the Zaanse Schans mills, one couldn’t speak of Holland. In fact, about two-hundred and fifty years ago, above this relatively small  plot of  ground were situated about eight-hundred windmills, which were used to carry out a series of activity that lately would be assigned to the industrial machinery. All the Zaan area is used as a museum. Today only few mills have remained functioning and they are:

 

un altro mulino sul fiume Zaan

another mill on the river Zaan

“DE GEKROONDE POLENBURG”
De Gekroonde Polenburg is one of the last five mills used as sawmill, in Holland. Unfortunately, for reasons of security, the part of the mill where there are the machinery for the cutting  wood, can’t be visited.

 

“DE KAT”
De Kat is a mill opened to the people seven days out of seven and it’s still used for the grinding of the minerals used for the production of the colours and the varnishes.


 

“DE ZOEKER EN DE BONTE HEN”
De Zoeker and De Bonte Hen are two mills formed by two crushers, both in use. They can be visited only in fixed  times.

 

“ DE HUISMAN ”
De Huisman is the smallest mill. Famous for the production of the fruit pickles, it’s actually in use but it’s not open to the public.


 

“DE HADEL”
De Hadel is a mill which is part of those mills used to keep constant the level of the water in the polders.


 

Just outside of the area used as a museum, there are other mills, which have particular names, the origin of which is to be sought in the tradition. In fact, there are some mills called: “De Bleeke Dood” ( The Pale Dead), “De Ooievaar” ( The Stork), “De Held Jozua” ( Jozua the hero). The near “Schoolmeester” ( School teacher) is the last mill existing for the production of  paper. For centuries the paper made by the Zaan mills was considered the best in the world; in fact, that’s demonstrated by the fact that the “Declaration of freedom” of the USA was written on the paper made in the Zaan

SCHIEDAM MILLS
The city of Schiedam, in the South of Holland, has always been famous for its mills, used for the wheat grinding for the distilleries that produced brandy. During the period of the greatest activity, the “Company of the Distiller” was the owner of more than nineteen mills, but now there are only five left. Schiedam mills are the tallest in the world, this is because, being built in the city, they should  rise above the roofs of the houses to exploit the strength of the wind. The “Dee Noord” and the “Vrijheid” mills are the tallest mills, in fact, they reach the notable height of thirty-three metres.

 

“DE WALVISCH” AND “DE NIEUWE PALMBOOM”
Another mill which is very famous and important is “De Walvisch”, destroyed by a fire in the 1996; thanks to fund collection, promoted by the urban institution for the safeguard of the mills and by the inhabitants, the blades of this mill  started to wheel again in 1999.
Another mill is “De Nieuwe Palboom”, opened to people; inside it, it’s located a museum on the history of the mill for the wheat, in Holland.

 

SCHERMER MILL-MUSEUM
This mill-museum is still working today. In 1634 the Schermer lake, in the North of Holland, was drained. To be able to drain this area completely and to be able to keep it dry, fifty-two mills were built. In this way the polder has been kept  as such up to 1927 thanks to the strength of the wind. Through a dam system, put into motion  by the mills, the water was forced along a difference in level of four metres. From the original fifty-two mills, there remain half of them. Today they are inhabited by privates that, as a hobby, keep the remaining mills operative. One of them, the “Ondermolen D” (sub-mill D) is used as a museum. It can be visited and supplies an excellent sample of the operation of these extraordinary hydraulic works. The part of the mill where people live has been restored with original materials.

 

DE LEEUW MILL
The city of Aalsmeer is situated just outside the city of Amsterdam. Every year, thousands of tourists go to this city to visit the biggest flowers’ auction  in the world. Few people know the ancient part of the town, consisting in the old borough; it’s surely worth a visit, also to see “De Leeuw”, a mill a peculiarity of which consists of its octagonal shape. Originally built in 1863, it was radically restored in 1994-95; it’s a mill for the grinding of corn, which is made by two couples of millstones. De Leeuw is opened to the public and the visitors can go up to the old garret; instead ,on the first floor, they can see the  enduring-photographic show, which illustrates the different kinds of Dutch mills and their work.

 

Il mulino de Leew

“De Leew” mill

KINDERDIJK MILLS
Kinderdijk is surely one of the best-known place in Holland. In every book which deals with Holland, it’s possible to find photographs of this landscape highlighed with windmills. Moreover, in 1997, Kinderdijk mills were signed on the UNESCO world artistic heritage list.