The lowlands have been prone to flooding through the ages despite the building of canals and dikes, including the 1421 Saint Elisabeth’s flood that killed thousands after the dikes broke in several places.
To stem the flooding, the Kinderdijk windmills were built in 1738 and 1740 — two earlier than that — to move water from the lower areas to higher spots and into the river.
There are many of these old and disused mills littering the countryside in Cyprus.
These windmills are used for irrigation, hence the blue water butt beside it. This one is in the middle of an olive grove.
These windmills are used for irrigation, hence the blue water butt beside it. This one is in the middle of an olive grove.
Kinderdijk, which translates to children’s dike, lies in the Alblasserwaard polder (land that’s been reclaimed from the sea, marshes or river floodplains) at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. The village is in the western portion of the Netherlands, much of which is near or even below sea level.
