Kinderdijk is a photograph by Dave Bowman which was uploaded on February 25th, 2013.
Kinderdijk
The windmills of Kinderdijk, Netherlands
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Kinderdijk is a village in the Netherlands, belonging to the municipality of Molenwaard, in the... more
by Dave Bowman
Title
Kinderdijk
Artist
Dave Bowman
Medium
Photograph
Description
The windmills of Kinderdijk, Netherlands
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Kinderdijk is a village in the Netherlands, belonging to the municipality of Molenwaard, in the province South Holland, about 15 km east of Rotterdam. Kinderdijk is situated in a polder in the Alblasserwaard at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. To drain the polder, a system of 19 windmills was built around 1740. This group of mills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best known Dutch tourist sites. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
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The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for "Children dike". In 1421 during the Saint Elizabeth flood of 1421, the Grote Hollandse Waard flooded, but the Alblasserwaard polder stayed unflooded. It is said that when the terrible storm had subsided, someone went on to the dike between these two areas, to see what could be saved. In the distance, he saw a wooden cradle floating on the waters. As it came nearer, some movement was detected. A cat was seen in the cradle trying to keep it in balance by jumping back and forth so that no water could get into it. As the cradle eventually came close enough to the dike for a bystander to pick up the cradle, he saw that a baby was quietly sleeping inside it, nice and dry. The cat had kept the cradle balanced and afloat. This folktale and legend has been published as "The Cat and the Cradle" in English.
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In Alblasserwaard, problems with water became more and more apparent in the 13th century. Large canals, called "weteringen", were dug to get rid of the excess water in the polders. However, the drained soil started setting, while the level of the river rose due to the river's sand deposits. After a few centuries, an additional way to keep the polders dry was required. It was decided to build a series of windmills, with a limited capacity to bridge water level differences, but just able to pump water into a reservoir at an intermediate level between the soil in the polder and the river; the reservoir could be pumped out into the river by other windmills whenever the river level was low enough; the river level has both seasonal and tidal variations. Although some of the windmills are still used, the main water works are provided by two diesel pumping stations near one of the entrances of the windmills site.
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February 25th, 2013
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Comments (61)
Bentley Davis
Congratulations! I have selected this piece to be featured in the Art for the Love of Art group.
Inge Riis McDonald
Wonderful light and exposure.Congratulations on the special feature in the Grayscale Outdoors Group.
Regina Geoghan
Beautiful black and white image. Congratulations on your features in Gray Scale Outdoors.
Maria Hunt
beautiful capture Dave... Just stunning. Congratulations on your feature in ALL Stars. F/L
John Bailey
Congratulations on being featured in the Fine Art America Group "Images That Excite You!"
Allan Van Gasbeck
Congratulations! Your outstanding artwork has been chosen as a FEATURE in the “The Grayscale Outdoors” group on Fine Art America — You are invited to post your featured image to the featured image discussion thread as a permanent place to continue to get exposure even after the image is no longer on the Home Page.
Allan Van Gasbeck
Congratulations! Your outstanding artwork has been chosen as a FEATURE in the “In Search of Ansel Landscapes Rural Scenes and Trees” group on Fine Art America — You are invited to post your featured image to the featured image discussion thread as a permanent place to continue to get exposure even after the image is no longer on the Home Page.