South Holland · The jenever city on the Maas

Schiedam

Schiedam is a town next to Rotterdam with 81,931 residents on 1 January 2026, according to CBS, the Dutch statistics office1. It was granted city rights in 1275 and grew big on jenever in the eighteenth century34. That past is still there to see, in harbours lined with warehouses, a jenever museum and a row of windmills that rank among the tallest traditional windmills in the world.

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Corn windmill with a white stage on the Noordvest in Schiedam, with a second windmill and a brick building with a red point further down the street, under a blue sky.
Photo: Prolete, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

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Explore the city

What is Schiedam known for?

Brick facade of the Jenever Museum on the Lange Haven in Schiedam, with a stepped gable, a small tower and a sailing ship in the water in front.

Jenever

Where can you taste and see jenever in Schiedam? The Nationaal Jenevermuseum with its working distillery, today's distillers and how to get inside.

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Tall brick windmill with a wide stage and turning sails beside a canal in Schiedam, with a second windmill among the trees on the right.

Windmills

Schiedam has seven tall windmills around the city centre, with De Noord at 33.3 metres. Which windmill can you climb, when is it open and what does it cost?

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View over the Lange Haven in Schiedam with canal houses, parked cars and trees in autumn colours.

Old town

What can you see in the old centre of Schiedam? The Lange Haven, the Town Hall, the Grote of Sint-Janskerk, the Korenbeurs and a walking route past them all.

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Classical front with four columns, a triangular pediment and a small bell tower, on a square with brick paving in Schiedam.

Museums & art

Which museums and galleries does Schiedam have? The Stedelijk Museum with Armando, the Jenever Museum, the Coöperatie Museum and the galleries in the city centre.

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Busy terraces with wicker chairs outside a traditional brown cafe on the Koemarkt in Schiedam, seen from a bridge.

Food & drink

Where to eat and drink in Schiedam? The Lange Haven, the Grote Markt and the Hoogstraat, dining in windmill De Noord, jenever tasting and local produce.

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Shopping street with hanging shop signs, clothes on display and people walking in the centre of Schiedam.

Shopping

Where to shop in Schiedam? The Hoogstraat, De Nieuwe Passage and specialist shops in the city centre, with Sunday shopping, late-night shopping and Schiedam products.

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Events

What is on in Schiedam soon?

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Schiedam at a glance

In short, Schiedam is the old jenever city on the river Schie, with giant windmills and a centre full of listed buildings.

Reference date for all figures on this page: Thursday 12 November 2026.

Schiedam in five numbers

Every counter below rests on at least two sources. Where sources contradict each other, that is noted.

ValueUnitLabelReference dateSource 1Source 2
81,931residentsresidents in the municipality1 Jan 2026CBS 70072nedCBS 37230ned
19.86km²area of land and water1 Jan 2026CBS 70072nedWikipedia
1275yearcity rights12 Nov 2026S'DAMWikipedia
33.3metreswindmill De Noord12 Nov 2026S'DAMWikipedia
7windmillstall windmills around the city centre12 Nov 2026Stichting De Schiedamse Molenssame, F.A.Q.

Two notes for the editors. Wikipedia gives 82,055 residents for 1 January 2026, while two CBS tables arrive at 81,931; the counter follows CBS123. And the number of windmills depends on what you count, because the windmill foundation includes De Nolet, a wind turbine built in the shape of an old windmill89.

The population goes up and down. On 1 January 2025 CBS still counted 82,232 residents, and a year later 301 fewer1. The provisional monthly figures put the total at 82,021 at the end of September 20262.

Why is Schiedam called the jenever city?

Around 1700, cloth and herring fishing gave way to the malt wine industry, and at its peak the town had 392 distilleries, malt wine distilleries and windmills, according to S'DAM10. The smoke from all those stills earned Schiedam the nickname Black Nazareth (Zwart Nazareth)310. A former malt wine distillery on the Lange Haven now houses the Nationaal Jenevermuseum, with a working distillery inside11. How to taste jenever yourself is explained on the page about jenever and distilleries.

How tall are the windmills of Schiedam?

At 33.3 metres, De Noord on the Noordvest is the tallest of the old Schiedam windmills56. Guinness World Records calls it the tallest working windmill in Europe, adding that the Netherlands has taller windmills that no longer work7. De Nolet, the wind turbine of Nolet Distillery, is taller, but does not count as a traditional windmill69. Which windmills you can climb is covered under the windmills of Schiedam.

Frequently asked questions about Schiedam

How many people live in Schiedam?

On 1 January 2026 the municipality of Schiedam had 81,931 residents, according to two CBS tables. That is 301 fewer than a year earlier, when the count stood at 82,232. The provisional monthly figures put the total at 82,021 residents at the end of September 2026. Schiedam covers 19.86 square kilometres of land and water.

When did Schiedam get city rights?

Schiedam was granted city rights in 1275 by Aleid of Holland, also known as Aleida van Avesnes. According to S'DAM, the settlement grew up around a dam in the Schie near the Oude Sluis, built at some point around 1230. Of Aleid's castle, Huis te Riviere, the ruin of the tower still stands near the Stadserf.

How do you get to Schiedam?

By train you get off at Schiedam Centrum station, which according to S'DAM is four minutes from Rotterdam Centraal. Metro lines A, B and C and trams 1 and 11 stop at the same station. By car you take the A4 or the A20 to the Schiedam Centrum exit. Everything about parking is on the page getting there.

Sources

  1. CBS, Regionale kerncijfers Nederland (70072ned), accessed 12-11-2026: www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/cijfers/detail/70072ned
  2. CBS, Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand (37230ned), accessed 12-11-2026: www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/cijfers/detail/37230ned
  3. Wikipedia, Schiedam (secondary), accessed 12-11-2026: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiedam
  4. S'DAM, Aleide van Avesnes, accessed 12-11-2026: www.sdam.nl/uk/see-and-do/information/aleide-van-avesnes
  5. S'DAM, Windmill De Noord, accessed 12-11-2026: www.sdam.nl/uk/see-and-do/information/windmill-de-noord
  6. Wikipedia, De Noord (Schiedam) (secondary), accessed 12-11-2026: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Noord_(Schiedam)
  7. Guinness World Records, Tallest windmill - working (secondary), accessed 12-11-2026: www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/77181-tallest-windmill-working
  8. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, De molens, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/de-molens
  9. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, F.A.Q., accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/f-a-q
  10. S'DAM, Jenever in Schiedam, Dutch Distillers District, accessed 12-11-2026: www.sdam.nl/jenever-schiedam-dutch-distillers-district
  11. Nationaal Jenevermuseum Schiedam, Contact en openingstijden, accessed 12-11-2026: jenevermuseum.nl/contact-en-openingstijden
  12. S'DAM, Route, accessed 12-11-2026: www.sdam.nl/praktisch/c/route
  13. Wikipedia, Station Schiedam Centrum (secondary), accessed 12-11-2026: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Station_Schiedam_Centrum

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