There are still over a thousand windmills in The Netherlands, although in the Second Half of the 19th century there were more than 9000 of them! The Netherlands is a country that is identified with them by foreigners. Thanks to conservation there are still a lot to be seen, especially in the Western provinces. Windmills were during the 17th, 18th and 19th century widely used to perform the heaviest work that needed to be done. There were used for grinding wheat, mustard seeds, sawing trees, grinding pigment rocks, and of course pumping water from reclaimed land under sealevel to higher levels.

Only slightly over 40 minutes by public bus north of Amsterdam there is a complex of windmills that is ideal for visiting from Amsterdam. For a small fee of a couple of euro’s you are allowed to enter the windmill while it’s producing grinded pigment rock which used to be used for making paint. Around these windmills is a small museum village with traditional wooden houses from that region. In 2 of them there are a wooden shoe factory and a traditional cheese factory. They show you the traditional process of making wooden shoes and cheese respectively.

I do tours to this complex, by public transport and by minivan. By public transport the tour last approximately 3,5 hours and costs 225 euro plus 10 euro per person for up to 7 guests. By minivan the tour takes just under 3 hours and costs 520  euro for up to 5 guests.

The largest complex of windmills in The Netherlands is southeast of Rotterdam. This complex can be reached by train, and after that subway and a nice, pleasant fast boatride over a couple of the wide waterways around Rotterdam. The tour could be combined with visiting the Port of Rotterdam.

Please fill out the form underneath for requesting a tour to the windmills: