The Zaanse Schans PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ber van de Rijdt   
zaanse schansAt the Zaanse Schans several windmills together with a number of typical old houses can be seen representing our national heritage. The site has been declared a world heritage site by Unesco and is worth a visit. On site are several small musea.

The collection of buildings that we call the Zaanse Schans is not a museum in the usual sense. Since 1949 old houses and windmills that are taken down are restored and rebuild on this site. In this way a representative collection of centuries of dutch rural architecture has been established.

All mills serve a particular purpose. There are mills for pumping water, pressing oil, cutting wood and grinding flour. The unique paintmill named The Cat .is the only place known where colourpigments are still being ground. In the houses on the site several crafts can be found such as a maker of wooden shoes, a shipyard, old shops and a cheesemaker.

The Zaanse Schans is in Zaanstad a town near Amsterdam. The settlement is certainly worth visiting. One of the millers can even speaks Chinese.