My husband and I will be traveling to Amsterdam in April and staying in Haarlem. We'd love to see an operational windmill and tour the inside. Based on some research I've done, it appears that perhaps the Molen van Sloten in Amsterdam and the Molen de Adriaan in Haarlem may be two windmills that are open for tours. Has anyone toured either of these windmills, and are there any others that are open for touring to recommend? We won't have a car but we're fine with taking public transportation. Thank you!
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2085 posts
I have visited a handful of windmills, but not those you mention. However it were flour mills like De Adriaan in Haarlem and actually not so different besides the latter located in a city is much higher to catch the necessary wind. The view of Haarlem from there must be fantastic. Most memorable is a visit of a working mill, if this will be the case best is to contact the team to know more and likely about other windmills that can be of interest too like those of De Zaanse Schans. Know that the stairs are very steep. https://www.molenadriaan.nl/en/
Most famous are the wind mills of Kinderdijk southeast of Rotterdam, these are not flour mills, but water pumps. No idea if one of the 19 will be working, but on the UNESCO World Heritage List and unique to see anyway.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33832 posts
Wil, isn't April or May usually the time for Windmill Day, or similar name? I remember going in some water pumping mills northeast of Haarlem, but that was some years ago...
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2085 posts
Good to put this under attention Nigel. It’s called “Nationale Molen- en Gemalendag” or “Day of the Mills and Pumping Stations”. So the day is not only about windmills, but also watermills (yes we have them) and historic steam-pump stations like the Ir. D. F. Woudagemaal near Lemmer in the province of Friesland (also on the UNESCO World Heritage List). Think usually the day is held in May, this year anyway on the 13th and 14th of that month to be precise, so this will not be in April unfortunately. Many windmills are open to visit for free during the Open Monuments Days in September.
Maybe you mean steam-pump station De Cruquius, but that’s south of Haarlem. Boasts having the world’s largest steam engine and worth visiting too. There is a bus stop and easy to reach from Haarlem. https://www.haarlemmermeermuseum.nl/en
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
7993 posts
I visited some historic windmills in Schermerhorn in Noord-Holland, and one of them (at least) was open for touring. It was really interesting and I'm so glad I went. I have a friend who lives outside of Amsterdam and she picked me up and we drove there. https://www.museummolen.nl/museummolen
Posted by
Australia
1072 posts
Molen de Adriaan in Haarlem tour is fantastic, especially on a day that the windmill is working. The noise the blades make in the wind is amazing and the whole building shakes!
Posted by
OP
Illinois, USA
29 posts
Thank you for the very helpful information. I guess I should have been more specific. We're not particular about which type of mill we tour, but we are fascinated by the ingenious Dutch history of pumping water out of the lowlands. De Cruquius sounds great and only appears to be a 20-minute bus ride away. Museum Molen in Schermerhorn also looks fascinating. It's a bit further away but certainly doable. And thank you for the positive reviews of Molen de Adriaan! You've given us a great list to explore.