Who doesn’t love a Dutch windmill? They’re such a distinctive part of the landscape, fantastic pieces of history and engineering rising up above the flat, green fields. There are over 1,200 windmills still standing in the Netherlands, so odds are that if you’re paying a visit, you’ll come across at least a few. Whether you’re excited by the gears and sails, interested in their cultural importance, or just want to snap some great photos, here’s everything you need to know about what these windmills are and how to visit them.

Dutch Windmills: Uses & Design

Windmills can convert energy to do all sorts of things: move water, saw wood, generate electricity, shred paper, or smash anything from corn and wheat to cocoa and paint pigments.

Why Build a Windmill?

The Dutch built their famous fifteenth- to nineteenth-century mills for all of these things, but the two primary functions were to grind grain (gristmills) …

… and to drain water (polder mills):

How Do Dutch Windmills Work?

Since the Netherlands is such a low-lying country, polder mills have long been essential in turning swamps into fertile tracts of land (these reclaimed areas are known as “polders”). In a polder mill, the sails power turning devices — once paddle wheels, and now Archimedean screws — that pump water from one area to another.

All of this requires a gear system at the top of the windmill, which takes power from the sails as they revolve to turn a central shaft; this shaft then turns a millstone, a paddle wheel, or a screw (this is a vastly simplified translation of windmill engineering).

Windmill machinery was traditionally constructed entirely out of wood, but the tower might be covered in brick, stone, wood, or thatch.

Dutch Windmill Styles

Dutch windmills are generally classified by function (grinding vs. draining), but they can also be divided by their various construction styles (the Dutch have many terms for these, including standardmolen, wipmolen, spinnenkopmolen, and more). There are stage mills, which sit high up on raised platforms (usually for grinding grain, usually in cities) …

… post mills (usually for drainage, with wooden heads mounted on triangular bases) …

… ground sailer mills (usually for drainage, with sails that almost touch the ground) …

… and smock mills (often for drainage, with little skirts at the base).

Visiting a Dutch Windmill

Fortunately, it’s easy to visit Dutch windmills.

Look for a Waving Flag!

If there’s a flag flying from the head, the mill is probably open for you to stop by. Some mills charge money for tours, while some millers generously give tours for free. If you’re extra-lucky, you may have the opportunity to see a mill at work or even see (or buy) some of the mill’s end products.

National Mill Day Delights

One of the best times to visit is National Mill Day (Nationale Molendag), a two-day event that falls on the second weekend in May. This is a great time to visit mills, because many more of them are open than usual, and millers (who often live in or just next to their mills) are out and about answering questions and showing off their properties.

On National Mill Day, you may even get swag, free ice cream, or a bonus concert!

The Best-Loved Windmill Groups in the Netherlands

The most popular mills to visit are those that come in rows: the extra-tall mills of Schiedam, the old lumber mills of Zaanse Schans, and the famous polder mills of the Kinderdijk.

For a place like Kinderdijk or Zaanse Schans, you’ll need a car or a bike — or you’ll have to sign up for a tour. A car is a must if you want to hit a lot of mills in a short span of time, or if you want to find mills that are off the beaten path.

Mills in the Cities

For easier visits on foot, plenty of mills still exist right in the middle of Dutch cities. Among other places, you can find them in Amsterdam, Alkmaar, Delft, Gouda, Leiden, and Haarlem.

Staying in the Shadow of a Mill

You can also spend the night in or just next to a mill! I had a fabulous stay in the shadow of the Ambachtsmolen in Oudorp — you can read all about it here.

Classic Dutch Windmill Fun Facts

• Oldest mill: Zeddam mill in Gelderland, built sometime before 1451
• Tallest mill: De Noord in Schiedam, 33.3 meters/109 feet tall
• Largest group of mills: Kinderdijk, 19 mills
• Province with the most mills: Zuid-Holland (South Holland), over 220 mills
• Province with the fewest mills: Utrecht, fewer than 35 mills
• Number of mills that existed in the 17th-19th centuries: 9,000

🇳🇱Curious about where to see Dutch windmills up close? Alkmaar and its surroundings are a great start.

🖼 Love history and invention? The Teylers Museum in Haarlem showcases centuries of Dutch discovery and ingenuity.