Retractable Bridge at Kinderdijk
I never knew that windmills had a purpose and in the Netherlands, it was to pump water. Large parts of the country is actually below sea level and over the centuries the Dutch have been waging a battle against the sea. Why they chose to build a country here of all places, it would be very hard to know. But the fact is, that they have been largely successful in keeping the water out and keeping their feet dry. Windmills serve as the motors to drive the pumps which move the water. There seems to be a large amount of water here at Kinderdijk and that probably necessitated the construction of a large number windmills here in this village. It was because of this concentration that the mill network here at Kinderdijk was named to the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Modern Pumping Station at Kinderdijk
I marvelled at the ingenuity of the Dutch as well as their determination to battle Mother Nature. It is no small feat now with our modern technology, it was probably almost impossible back then. The use of the windmills helped pull out the water as well as a network of dikes help to guide the water where they want it to be. On the way out, I noticed that there was a more modern structure and it looked like a pumping station. It had massive screws which are turned by the motors and the screws catch water and move it elsewhere. I remember seeing this in books and it is called an Archimedes screw. It was my first time seeing something like that as well. To think such as inventions goes back so long ago.
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