Kinderdijk UNESCO Windmills

Nineteen windmills, and the 700-year story of a country keeping itself dry

Kinderdijk is one of the most recognisable views in the Netherlands: nineteen historic windmills standing together across the water, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The windmills were the original engineering answer to a simple problem: much of this land sits below sea level, and without constant pumping it floods. Students walk the site, step inside a working museum mill, and see exactly how people kept the water at bay long before modern technology.

It sits close to Rotterdam and is an easy, scenic addition to a Rotterdam-based day.

Available Packages

Kinderdijk runs three packages built for school groups. Each one combines the history, the landscape and a visit inside a real windmill.

Korte Halve: The essentials in a shorter visit. Students watch the film and exhibition on Kinderdijk's history, or visit the historic Wisboom Pumping Station, then explore one of the Museum Mills to experience life inside a traditional windmill firsthand.

Droge Voeten: A fuller visit. Students explore Kinderdijk's history through the film and exhibition and visit the Wisboom Pumping Station from 1868, then follow an audio tour that tells the story of this unique landscape on the way to one of the Museum Mills.

Duiker: The one with the boat. Choose between the film and exhibition or the Wisboom Pumping Station, then take a 30-minute boat tour with wonderful views across the World Heritage site, finishing with a visit inside one of the Museum Mills.