Netherlands Canals and Windmills

Thu, Nov 1st 2007, 00:00

Holland, or the Netherlands, is a land of canals and windmills.


It is the country that has achieved the unthinkable, reclaiming land back from the natural elements: the name Netherland (derived from the Dutch for low country) is a reference to the low lying nature of the north western part of Europe.

Here the land sits below sea level and the Dutch have designed an ingenious system of turbines, dikes and canals to keep themselves dry. There are some 5000 polders (drained land surrounded by dikes to control groundwater levels) in the area.

The oldest, Droogmakerij (polder) Beemster, was constructed in 1612. It was one of the first experiments in reclaiming agricultural grounds from the water and was added to the Unesco World Heritage List in 1999.

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