Visit to an authentic Dutch Windmill close to Amsterdam

Windmills in Holland
The Netherlands, among others things, is famous for its windmills. They dot the flat landscape

"De Onrust" windmill

and harness the power of the almost endless winds that sweep the country. Dutch people have realized the power of the wind as early as the middle ages and have build powerful windmills for a wide variety of functions ranging from water draining to sawing wood and grinding. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and they have certain specificities for each region of the country.

Although some still in use, windmills today are mostly a tourist attraction. One of the most visited attraction in Holland is the famous Zaanse Schans, just north of Amsterdam which in 2015 received the highest number of tourists out of any other place in the Netherlands! Beautiful windmills can also be visited in the UNESCO World heritage sight of Kinderdijk, which is located around 2hr away from Amsterdam with public transportation.

De Onrust

Dutch bridge and windmill

One day in March, on our way to the Aviodrome airplane museum, and due to roadworks we were diverted through provincial roads. And along the way we found this beautiful windmill which we decided to check out. To our surprise, on the site was one of the volunteers who take care of it, named Thon. 

As most windmills in the Netherlands, this one is named "De Onrust". It was built in 1809 to pump water out of the nearby lake called Naardermeer. It is still in use, doing the exact same job! It is impressive to note that to pump out 1cm of water the windmill needs to work for 14 hours straight!

As we were curious how a windmill works and Thon was very eager to show us around we had what it turned out to be more than 1hr tour. The whole windmill was just for us, without any other tourists ever showing up. We got to learned the detailed history but also a live demonstration of how it works. Thon showed us everything about how the windmill start and breaks, how the sails unfold, how to turn it to face the wind etc. Having visited many windmills in the Netherlands, this is the first time we got such a detailed explanation. And it was completely for free, although a donation box is available which of course we gave some money which will help preserve this lovely site.

How to visit De Onrust
The windmill is located around 20km from the center of Amsterdam. It is an easy car drive or for the

Location of "De Onrust"

more adventurous, it is reachable by bicycle through a well planned network of bicycle lanes (see in sources for a tool to help you plan your bicycle route). Also public transportation is available but it is a long journey so not recommended.

The exact coordinates, in case you want to plan your route are:
52.315106, 5.091774 or 52°18'54.4"N 5°05'30.4"E

Thon, our guide, who was both very enthusiast and also spoke perfect English, is there almost every Sunday from 11:00 till 16:00 or by appointment to this email: thonstof@gmail.com

"de Onrust" is well worth a visit and it is a much more authentic experience than the extremely touristy Zaanse Schans. If combined with a bicycle tour it makes a fascinating way to experience the Dutch countryside..

Enjoy!

Sources:

1. Zaanse Schans, the most visited attraction in the Netherlands in 2015: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/04/windmill-park-zaanse-schans-attracts-most-foreign-tourists/
2. Kinderdijk: https://www.kinderdijk.com/
3. Aviodrome airplane museum: https://www.aviodrome.nl/
4. Zaanse Schans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaanse_Schans
5. Dutch windmills database: https://molendatabase.nl/nederland/
6. Info about windmills (in Dutch): http://onserfgoed.eu/
7. Plan a bicycle route anywhere in the Netherlands: http://www.hollandcyclingroutes.com/online-cycle-route-planner