Zaanse Schans is a neighborhood, located in the Dutch town of Zaandam. It is just a short 25-minute drive from the capital, Amsterdam. It’s a place to go to see the historic windmills. Not only can you pay to go up the windmill, but you can also watch clogs been made and see the distinctive green, wooden Dutch houses. The greenhouses give the place a look of an 18th/19th century village.
Zaanse Schans is free to visit, however, it does cost to park your car and go up the windmills. If you are staying in Amsterdam and do not have your own car, there is a train that runs from Amsterdam to Zaanse Schans. If you prefer not to visit on your own, there are organised bus tours, which you can do.
Clog Workshop
The clog workshop was absolutely fantastic! It’s free to visit too. You can watch some clogs get made, learn about the history and see a whole range of quirky clogs. There’s even clogs with heels on! At the end of the museum, there is a souvenir shop, where you can purchase your own set of clogs.
Windmills
When you arrive at Zaanse Schans, you will see a long line of windmills, located next to the waterfront. This area is looked after by the De Zaansche Molen society. Around 1920, there were only 20 windmills left out of 1000, that had made the Zaan district, the oldest industrial area in the world. In 1925, a windmill society De Zaanshe Molen was formed to protect the remaining windmills. Today, they look after 13 of the industrial windmills, keeping them in excellent condition and operates them regularly. They have also opened up a large museum, where you can find out more about the history of the place and the operations.
You can pay to go into each of the different windmills. I personally would not pay to go in all of them. It would be very expensive to do so. However, I do recommend paying to go in at least one of them, just as longs as you don’t mind climbing ladders. To get up and down the windmill, there are small sets of wooden ladders. We paid âŦ5 to go to De Kat, the paint mill. If you are wanting to go inside more then one of them, you can buy a combined ticket from their website: Zaansche Molen. It will cost you âŦ12 to go inside 4 windmills, which is a lot cheaper than paying for 4 separate tickets.
The windmill, which I went in, windmill De Kat, is a paint/dye mill. Inside the windmill, there is a museum, teaching you how they use to make paint powder and dye. This mill is probably the last remaining paint windmill in the world!
If you do not fancy going inside a paint mill, you could visit the spice mill, grain mill, flour mill, oil mill, sawmill, paper mill, or the hulling mill.
For more information on the different windmills, please check out their website:Â Zaansche Molen Mills.
