Reply to "Interesting Architectural Structures"

Amsterdam windmills

The Netherlands is synonymous for its windmills, clogs, tulips, canals, cheese markets… practically everything that you would expect to find in a charming and utterly picturesque country. But, whatever image you associate with the lowlands, the first thing likely to come to mind is the windmill (molen). Such is the importance of these living monuments that there is even a National Windmill Day (11 May), and on festive occasions or national holidays molens are decked out in flowers, garlands, figures of angels or the Dutch flag. For centuries, windmills have helped the Dutch fight water shortages so it is little wonder that they were the first to develop ‘windmill technology.’ In the glory days, the Netherlands boasted more than 10,000 mills but the molen population today stands at a mere 1,000. Many of the remaining mills are open to the public and a couple have even been transformed into homes, but a word of warning, these are not museums!