The Windmills of Schiedam
De Molens van Schiedam

Visit the tallest windmills in the world!

In Schiedam, a city just outside of Rotterdam, you can find the tallest windmills in the world (heights up to 33 metres!). The reason the windmills are there is because in the 18th and 19th century, Schiedam was the jenever capital of the world.

The windmills played an important role in this because they would grind the grain, which is the main ingredient of jenever.

Unfortunately only 5 of the original 20 windmills survived, and one was rebuilt in 2011, which makes it 6 in total. Some windmills are open to the public, among which Windmill de Walvisch, which has a shop and a little museum where you can learn about windmills. There is even a part where you can enjoy the panoramic view.

The other windmill that is open to the public is Windmill de Noord, which has a restaurant inside with a French-Dutch cuisine.