Dutch Windmills

For now, let’s stay in the Netherlands and just move a little along to the northwest. I received this card from a girl living in the province of Fryslân. In early January it’s cold and snowy there, and there’s probably a cold breeze coming in from the sea. Accordingly, the card shows a winter scenery with windmills covered in snow. Windmills are a typical sight for the Netherlands. Most windmills were built between the 15th and 18th centuries. There used to be 10.000 of them. Today, there are still more than 1000 windmills left. Some of them were made into museums, some were converted into living quarters. But while most of them are still ready-to-operate, the initial functions have long been taken over by newer technologies. Windmills were used to grind grain, saw wood, make oil or even paper. But most of the windmills in the Netherlands had been built for a different purpose. Large areas of the country lie below sea level – hence the name Netherlands. Windmills were used to pump water from the low lying areas. In that way new land was gained from the sea to be settled and cultivated. For a long time the windmills shaped the life of the people and the face of the country. Until today they remain a common sight in the Netherlands, especially in the coastal areas.