Kinderdijk Windmills!

To visit the Netherlands as a tourist is to see the tulips if you’re lucky enough to come in the springtime. But not to be overlooked are the historical Kinderdijk windmills, a surviving group of 19 built in 1738 and 1740 to keep water out of the lowlands. The mills have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Each of 18 of these windmills still is manned by a miller who lives with his family in the windmill.

Photos from inside the windmill are from the windmill dedicated as a museum to depict life of the miller, his wife and their many children living in the windmill. Many people would like to be millers. However, the training to become a miller has a 30 year wait list, so if interested, do not hesitate!

I had so much fun photographing these big relics. The dove gray sky produced wonderful reflections and flat light. By the way, on this trip I am shooting exclusively with my iPhone 13 Pro Max.

The date 1740 written on the sign indicates the year the windmill was built.

Inside the tiny living space on the first floor of the windmill.

The opposite side of the living space, across from the fireplace.

The little sleeping cupboard in the living space where the miller and his wife slept sitting up. Yet many had 18 children! The children shared sleeping spaces on the second story.

An open cupboard for useful storage

The finer things, like Delft, were kept in a closed cabinet.

Window looking out from the table

It’s a peaceful life living by the windmills.