Spring in Kinderdijk: Nature Awakens

The winter calm makes way for new life: birds return, the first flowers bloom, and the days grow longer. Nature awakens, and with it, the landscape of the windmills transforms.

Walking through the polder, you can feel the gradual shift. The meadows take on a fresh green hue, reeds rustle gently in the spring breeze, and the windmills reflect in the increasingly clear water of the ditches. Black-tailed godwits and lapwings make their appearance again, their calls heralding the warmer months ahead. The bluethroat also returns, its bright song resonating through the reeds, adding to the springtime symphony of the polder.

It’s not just nature that changes—life around the windmills does too. For the millers, spring brings a new rhythm. The water level in the polder rises toward its summer height. In the past, millers were especially busy in autumn and winter, pumping excess rainwater out of the polder. During the summer months, many found other work, such as in agriculture or shipyards.

Spring in Kinderdijk is a subtle transformation—a play of light and nature in which the World Heritage site reveals a different side of itself. For those who take the time to look and listen, this season is a perfect moment to experience Kinderdijk—a place where centuries-old technology and nature exist in perfect harmony.

Visit us!

Would you like to experience this historic technology up close? With an all-in ticket, you step straight into history, where the windmills still turn, and the scent of oil welcomes you in the Wisboom pumping station.