May 12th and 13th are designated as National Mill Day in Holland when around 900 windmills open their doors to the public. Windmills in the background of scenery often symbolize the Dutch landscape, so why is Holland always associated with windmills?

Here are some interesting facts about windmills that you might not know!

Windmills used to be everywhere

More than 10,000 fully operational windmills used to be employed for industrial purposes and dotted the Dutch landscape. However, with the advent of steam, diesel, and electricity, windmills gradually disappeared from the Dutch landscape, and only around 1,200 remain today.

Being lovingly maintained and protected, they are now world-famous icons of the Dutch landscape, especially in Old Holland. The Zaanse Schans is one of the best places for windmill spotting, a free outdoor park with an impressive collection of historical windmills.

Windmills in art

Windmills were abundant in the paintings of the Golden Age, and they could hardly be avoided, with around 9,000 of them dotted the landscape in the 17th century.

Rembrandt, who was a miller's son, painted a powerful picture in which a windmill towers over the landscape, with the sun lighting up its sails as black clouds recede. In 17th-century paintings, windmills usually weren't simply windmills but symbols of strength, keeping the soil dry and the people safe.

First windmills

Historians say that the Greeks and Persians are believed to be the first to have invented windmills. A Greek named Tesibius was the first to conduct an experiment on the idea of utilizing the wind to run a mill between 222 to 285 BC. During those times, water was more widely used in operating mills and other machines.

The Persians started to use windmills for grinding grain in 700 BC, but the mills were fixed and would not turn by themselves. The vanes just followed the direction of the breeze.

Reason for the fame

The Dutch windmills rose to prominence due to Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest, who lived from 1550 to 1607. He introduced people to other uses of the windmill, such as wood sawing at high speed. It was then that the Dutch East India Company started to explore the East Indies, and there was a great need for wood to be used in building ships.

The Dutch windmills were put to massive utility in producing tons of wood each year, and thus they rose to prominence and became indisputable icons of this land below the sea.

Where to see windmills today

Kinderdijk is one of the best-known places for windmill watching, with 19 windmills almost all ‘grondzeilers’ on the UNESCO world heritage list.

These mills, which pumped up the polder water, played an important part in shaping the Netherlands. The Zaanse Schans is another popular windmill destination, with a collection of working sawmills, oil mills, a spice mill, and many more historical monuments. It is best avoided during the main tourist season.

Windmills have a long and storied history that spans centuries and cultures. While the Dutch windmills may not have been the first, they are certainly some of the most famous and beloved.

Whether you are interested in their industrial uses or their artistic symbolism, there is no denying that windmills have a unique and fascinating place in our collective consciousness.