Zaanse Schans Windmills in Zaandam – Netherlands
1. By boat, bus or train from Amsterdam
2. The history of the windmills
3. Open-air heritage village
4. Museums and workshops
5. Zaandam
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Zaanse Schans is located 15 km north of Amsterdam in Zaandam and is known for being the focal point and location for picturesque old Dutch windmills and beautiful wooden houses typical of this region of the Netherlands. The spectacular windmill constructions were relocated to Zaanse Schans from elsewhere between 1959 and 1974. Nevertheless, two windmills are preserved in their original location at Zaanse Schans, picturesquely surrounded by heritage houses and small canals.
The Zaans Museum was established in 1994 and is a central component of the historic setting of windmills and village houses in the natural landscape of canals and dikes in this part of the Netherlands. The museum and windmill structures are located along the riverbank of the Zaan River at Zaandam.
The first windmills for sawing wood and grinding grain were built towards the end of the 16th century. The area covers a variety of mills: a dye mill, a mustard mill, sawmills, and oil mills.
Zaandam is popular both in the Netherlands and among foreign visitors – today, Zaanse Schans is a significant tourist attraction, with a few million visitors each year. Take a tour by river cruise or go on your own. Getting here by public transport from Amsterdam is easy. There are frequent Sprinter train connections from the city to Zaandam, Zaanse Schans, and Wormerveer, which will take you to Zaanse Schans in approximately 20 minutes.
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There is also the option of a river cruise from Amsterdam on the Zaan River to Zaanse Schans. A boat trip, as a half-day trip from Amsterdam, is perfect for experiencing the area. Other options are to go by bus or rent a bicycle to ride along the picturesque canals and enjoy the windmill setting around Zaanse Schaans.
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Zaanse Schans offers the opportunity to visit several museum workshops, such as the Weaver’s House, the Zaan Time Museum, the Bakery Museum, and the Albert Heijn Museum Shop. You can see how clogs are made and taste a large selection of Dutch cheeses in the cheese factory and shop. Oil and ground spices are produced, and wood is sawn at the sawmill when the mills run.
A Zaanse Schans windmill | Photo: Travel In Culture
The name Zaanse Schans dates back to the Eighty Years’ War in the 16th century, when strategic fortifications with lookouts, known as ‘schans’, were built here on elevations as a defence against the Spanish troops. Kalver Schans was the largest – and it resisted all attacks from the Spanish during the war.
Heritage windmills Holland | Photo: Travel In Culture
In 1573, the Spanish invaders were defeated in a major battle in Wormer, which cost many Spanish soldiers their lives. As a reminiscence of the war, many street names around Zaanse Schans refer to this significant part of the history of the Eighty Years’ War in the Netherlands.
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In the 17th century (the Dutch Golden Age), Amsterdam was a focal point for trade in raw materials from all over the world. The inhabitants of the Zaan region soon took advantage of this, building ships and using the waterways out of Amsterdam as convenient arteries to transport the materials locally. The newly established windmills then transformed the raw materials into products such as oil, cocoa, ground spices, dyes, paper, and sawn wood.
The adventure continued in the following century, as the region massively continued the construction of windmills and factories, thus industrialising Zaandam. The goods produced were shipped worldwide via Amsterdam. At its most prosperous, the Zaanse Schans region had around 600 windmills, each with a small factory of industrial production, powered by the wind. In a European context, it is unique as it is considered the oldest industrial area in Western Europe.
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As an innovative approach, the people of the region shared their technological knowledge and established ‘insurance contracts’ to share the losses in case of fire.
The windmill owners and rich merchants built houses with beautiful facades and gables along the river Zaan – houses that still stand and can be admired on a stroll through the small Zaan towns. The residents used a colour palette of green, beige, and blue, still prominent in Zaandam, Zaanse Schans, and Wormer.
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The heyday of the Zaan region is reflected today in the historic village of Zaanse Schans, where windmills and industrial activities show the industrial development of the 18th century. Almost all the heritage buildings of the open-air museum have been moved to Zaanse Schans from their original location in the region to preserve the Dutch cultural heritage. The relocation was planned by the architect Jaap Schipper, and most of the buildings moved between 1961 and 1976. Today, the merchants’ wooden houses are located on the dikes along the canals.
The windmills, the watery meadows, and the dairy-farming land surrounding the historic village are the epitome of the Netherlands for many visitors. The Zaans Museum has a unique collection of heritage items from the past on display. Zaanse Schans is today one of the most important tourist attractions in the Netherlands and receives thousands of visitors annually!
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On the opposite bank of the Zaan River, you will find a row of breathtakingly beautiful houses from the region’s heyday!
You can go inside some of the windmills and visit several museums such as the Zaans Museum, the Windmill Museum, the Weaver’s House where traditional sails were made, the bakery museum, the Zaanse Time Museum, a fisherman’s house, a merchant family’s home, a pewter foundry, and the Albert Heijn Museum Shop which is the original grocery store in the supermarket chain that Albert Heijn took over in 1887.
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Zaans Museum provides an insight into the industrial culture of Zaandam, and you will find a range of local items on display, such as products from the chocolate company Verkade and Albert Heijn. The Verkade Experience tells the history of the chocolate manufacturer and shows the industrial machines in action. Moreover, the museum contains regional costumes and original furniture from past centuries.
Most mill museums are workshops where you can see the manufacturing process and how oil, flour or spices are ground. From a distance, you will notice the sails of the windmills turning. If you enter the mills and climb the stairs, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the village and the surrounding countryside.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Photo: Travel In Culture
History comes alive in the workshops, where, for example, you can see how traditional Dutch clogs are made in the clog workshop and have the opportunity to taste delicious Dutch cheese at the cheese factory while learning about the cheese production process.
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Walking around the open-air museum area with windmills, barns and workshops surrounded by canals and meadows where cows graze is a unique insight into the historic Netherlands.
The Zaandam region still retains some old industries, although in a very modernised form today. For example, cocoa processing still takes place in industrial buildings along the Zaan!
The traditional fish merchant building, Zaandam, Netherlands | Photo: Travel In Culture
Zaandam town is also worth a visit and is easy to get to by train from Amsterdam. Outside the station, you will find the shopping esplanade with boutiques, pubs and restaurants. There is a traditional morning market where you can find almost everything in Dutch food specialities, including herring hotdogs!
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The most special building complexes are undoubtedly the new town hall next to the train station and the spectacular Inntel Hotels, which look like an intricate pattern of regional-style wooden houses intertwined in a pile!
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Inntel Hotels, Zaandam | Photo: Travel In Culture
You can get more inspiration for Amsterdam in our guide to Amsterdam: Where to Stay in Amsterdam and read about the history of Amsterdam.
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Zaanse Schans Windmills in Zaandam – Netherlands
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