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Why is the Netherlands called the land of windmills?

When it comes to the Netherlands, people will definitely think of tulips and windmills. The Netherlands is known as the “land of windmills”. The significance of Dutch windmills to the Dutch is extraordinary, and even a “Windmill Day” is specially set up to commemorate windmills.

In 1229, the Dutch invented the world’s first windmill to power humans. For a long period of time, people used primitive methods to process and grind grains, initially by manual manual operation, later by horse-drawn treadmills and waterwheels propelled by water, and then by windmills. Because the Netherlands is flat and windy, windmills quickly became popular. The rapid increase in demand has led to the transformation of windmill technology.

The use of windmills was no longer limited to grinding grains, but developed into barley processing, sawing logs into stringers and boards, making paper, and extracting oil from various oil crops such as linseed and rapeseed, and spices. Grind to make mustard.

Despite its many uses, people are more willing to remember the old saying in Europe: “God created man, the Dutch windmill created the land.” Indeed, without these towering pumping windmills, the Netherlands could not get nearly One-third of the country’s land, there is no later cheese and tulip aroma.

Dutch windmills, the largest are several stories high, with wings up to 20 meters long. Some windmills are made of a whole piece of oak wood. At the end of the eighteenth century, there were about 12,000 windmills in the Netherlands. These windmills were used to grind grain, coarse salt, tobacco leaves, press oil, roll woolen wool, felt, make paper, and drain water from marshes. It is these windmills that keep sucking and draining water, protecting two-thirds of the country’s land from the threat of sinking and man-made fish and turtles.

Since the 20th century, due to the development of steam engines, internal combustion engines, and turbines, the ancient windmills that rely on wind were once dimmed and almost forgotten. However, because windmills use natural wind power, there is no risk of pollution and exhaustion, so they are not only used by the Dutch people all the time, but also become a kind of new energy, which deeply attracts people.

There are about 2,000 windmills of all kinds in the Netherlands. The Dutch love their windmills, and they are often praised in folk songs and proverbs. Windmill buildings, always try to dress up beautifully. On big festivals, the windmills are surrounded by garlands, and flags and cardboard suns and stars are hung.

Although the Netherlands is a modern country, it is amazing that it has not lost its ancient traditions. The windmills that symbolize the Dutch national culture are still faithfully running in all corners of the Netherlands. In this “land of windmills”, in the heyday hundreds of years ago, there were nearly 10,000 windmills, but the advent of other power machinery, such as steam engines, internal combustion engines and electric motors, eliminated these windmills, and now there are nearly 1,000 windmills left. indivual.

The Dutch feel that windmills are the “heroes” of their development, so they determine the second Saturday in May every year as “Windmill Day”, on which the windmills of the whole country turn together and the whole country celebrates. Because windmills are rare, the Dutch, like tourists from all over the world, have to visit the Windmill Village Reserve or the Windmill Museum to see them all.

In the Netherlands, windmills, wooden shoes, cheese and tulips, as well as canals and Van Gogh’s painting art, strung together beautiful scenery, bringing tourists countless dreams and imaginations. While windmills are no longer in sight, modern wind farms are reappearing on the horizon, especially along dam banks or in open, flat areas.