Windmills
On the Zaan.
Mustang Joe — CC0 · Pierre Blaché from Paris, France — CC0 · Steven Lek — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Andy Li — CC0 · Willemijn92 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Zaanse Schans is a neighbourhood of Zaandam on the Zaan river, about 12 km northwest of Amsterdam in a straight line. It is known for its collection of historic windmills and wooden houses, and it drew about 2.6 million visitors in 2024. Between 1961 and 1974 old buildings from across the Zaanstreek region north of Amsterdam were moved here on low trailers to preserve them, while two of the windmills still stand where they were first built. The area is now a protected reserve of Zaan timber architecture and an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The Zaans Museum, opened in 1994, lies to its south. Green and black windmills line the riverbank, their big sails turning in the wind, and green wooden houses with white trim stand among them on little canals crossed by arched bridges. Flat meadows and wide skies spread all around. Visitors go inside some working windmills that grind spices, oil and pigments, and look in at a clog workshop and a cheese farm. Trains from Amsterdam reach Zaandijk station in minutes, and early morning is the quietest time.
On the Zaan.
Timber architecture.
A craft demonstration.
Zaandam, North Holland, Netherlands
By train to Zaandijk station.
Walking around is free; some windmills charge.