User:Scored645dutch/Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk is a village in the dutch provinc South-holland, located in the Alblasserwaard. THe village is part of the local authority Molenlanden. Kinderdijk is located at the place where the river Noorth and the lek meet. The place is often referd as the kinderdijkse molens. The main activety is shipsbulding.

History

Kinderdijk was protected from the water by two councils, the Overwaard (on the east side of the Middelkade) and the Nederwaard (on the west side of the Middelkade). The Nederwaard buld 8 wind mils in 1738, stone grondzeilers. The second wind mill is open for public. The Overwaarde also buld 8 wind mils in 1740, those were eight sided windmils.

Kinderdijk was, in 1886, the first dutch place with electricity. The electricity is generated in Kinderdijk by the first dutch powerpland, desined and buld by Willem benjamin smit, also one of the founders of Electrisch-Licht-Machinen Fabriek Willem Smit & Co.

Toponymie

There are various stories about the origins of the name Kinderdijk. The original name of the village is "Elshout".

The best-known story about the origins of the name Kinderdijk goes back to 1421 during the great St. Elisabeth flood. When the worst of the storm had gone away, people went up the dike to see what could be saved and saw a cradle floating in the distance. There was no hope that there would be anything alive in there, but as it came closer they saw movement. When it came even closer, it was seen that a cat was balancing the cradle by jumping back and forth so that no water could enter the cradle. When the cradle was finally close to the dike, they fished it out. There turned out to be another baby in there, sleeping peacefully and dryly. Another story tells that the name Kinderdijk arose because the dike that runs through it was created with the help of child labor. Yet another story tells that a certain Jan lived in a large house near Kinderdijk (Elshout). This Jan had many children and was therefore called 'Jan der Kindere'. Later the area where he lived was called Kinderdijk. A seventeenth-century description states that at the beginning of the fifteenth century the gentlemen Van Giessen were obliged to maintain the dike. The recovery after the St. Elizabeth's Flood of 1421 was a costly affair and the heirs of Mr. Van Giessen, the 'children of Giessen', relinquished the dike due to the high costs, which was subsequently called the 'Kinderdijk'.[1]

Windmills

The windmils of Kinderdijk are sind 1997 on the world heritage list of UNESCO. THe 19 Windmils are devided in a line of eight windmills on the Nederwaard (this are the round stone wind mils), a row of eight thatched octagonal on the Overwaard, with next to is a seesal mil;

the Blokweerse wind mill the one who pumps the polder Bokweer and in the polder Nieuw-Lekkerland two thatcht octagonal windmils.

Other sights

The place is of international value, not only because of the windmills, but because all water management technology from the Middle Ages can be seen close together here. There are dikes, storage reservoirs, modern pumping stations and administrative buildings.

For example, the Overwaard communal house is located at the end of the Lage Boezem and against the Lek. This building existed before, but was put into use as a common country house in 1644. The building is used as a representative building of the Rivierenland water board.

The area is a protected villagescape.

Water mils

To strengthen the pumping capacity, two steam pumping stations were established in 1868. One of them - the Wisboom pumping station - still exists, but is now equipped with an electric lifting device. From 1950 onwards, the function of the mills was taken over by a number of pumping stations. The pumping station at Kinderdijk itself works with an Archimedes screw, which is clearly visible from the outside.

Next to the Wisboomgemaal, the J.U. is located at Kinderdijk. Smitgemaal (from 1972) and Gemaal De Overwaard (from 1995).

Well-known residents

Born in Kinderdijk

[[Category:Populated places in South Holland]] [[Category:World wonders]]