The windmills of Schiedam, and which ones you can visit

Around the centre of Schiedam stand seven tall windmills, built or rebuilt to grind grain for the jenever industry1. The tallest, De Noord, measures 33.3 metres45. Only Museummolen De Walvisch on the Westvest is open all year, from Tuesday to Sunday39. The other windmills you mainly climb on National Mill Day (Nationale Molendag).

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.
Photo: Johan Bakker, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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In short, for a single windmill visit go to De Walvisch, and for all the windmills at once go on Mill Day.

Are these really the tallest windmills in the world?

It depends on how precisely you put it. The windmill foundation and S'DAM call the Schiedam distillers' windmills the tallest windmills in the world1217. Wikipedia sticks to some of the tallest classic windmills in the world21. At 33.3 metres, De Noord is the tallest of the old Schiedam windmills5. Guinness World Records recognises De Noord as the tallest working windmill in Europe, at 33.33 metres, and notes that the Netherlands has taller windmills that no longer work6.

Why so tall? Among the buildings, low windmills caught too little wind, and the distillers wanted more storage and production1. So the windmills grew upwards. De Noord was even taken down in 1803 and rebuilt closer to the water, because it caught too little wind above the growing town7.

De Nolet is taller than De Noord, but it does not count. It is a wind turbine in the shape of a traditional windmill, built in 2005 by Nolet Distillery, and it grinds no grain316.

Two windmills with black bodies under a grey sky, with the wooden tips of sails in the foreground and the roofs of Schiedam behind.
Photo: bertknot from scarborough, australia, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Which windmills are there in Schiedam?

Five windmills date from the heyday of jenever. This century De Nolet and the rebuilt De Kameel joined them1.

WindmillBuiltAddressCan you go inside?
De Walvisch1794Westvest 229yes, museum windmill, Tue to Sun
De Drie Koornbloemen1770Vellevest 5on Mill Day, adults
De Palmboom1781, rebuilt after the fire of 1901Noordvest 34on Mill Day, all ages
De Noord1803Noordvest 38restaurant; windmill on Mill Day with a guide
De Vrijheid1785Noordvest 40only on Mill Day, adults
De Kameel1715, rebuilt and opened in 2011Doeleplein 6office of the windmill foundation
De Nolet2005, wind turbineHoofdstraat 6no, owned by Nolet Distillery

Sources for each windmill are in the text below. On Mill Day 2026 De Kameel stayed closed22.

How do you visit Museummolen De Walvisch?

De Walvisch at Westvest 229 has been the museum windmill since 2018 and is part of the Nationaal Jenevermuseum89. A 180-degree audiovisual presentation tells the story of the Schiedam windmills, one floor up you learn how a distillers' windmill works, and from the stage around the windmill you look out over the town9. On the ground floor is the windmill shop with flour from De Vrijheid; it is open Wednesday to Saturday, from 11.00 to 17.003.

The windmill is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 11.00 to 17.00910. On 12 November 2026 a single ticket for the windmill cost 8.50 euros for adults, and with a Museumkaart or Rotterdampas you get in free10. Whether the windmill is turning that day depends on the volunteer miller. If in doubt, call ahead3.

Mind the route. Until the end of January 2027 the Westvest can only be reached via the Gerrit Verboonstraat, because of work on the Welfbrug18.

What is special about the other windmills?

De Vrijheid still does real milling. It houses the traditional milling business, and the windmill has a cast-iron upper shaft from 1838, according to the foundation the oldest of its kind in the Netherlands11. De Drie Koornbloemen is the oldest authentic distillers' windmill in the town and the only one with a built-in miller's house12. A volunteer miller lives there, so you often see it turning12.

De Palmboom burnt out in 1901 from sparks from a steam distillery across the water. It was not rebuilt until ninety years later, and in 1993 a windmill museum opened there, which moved to De Walvisch in 201813. De Kameel stood near the Doeleplein from 1715 to 1868 and reopened, rebuilt, on Mill Day 14 May 2011, at 30.5 metres to the top of the cap14. Its striking feature is the grot, a semicircular passage through which small boats sailed into the windmill14.

Since the restoration of the 1970s De Noord has housed a restaurant, De Noordmolen47. You eat there inside a working windmill; see also food and drink.

Can you visit the Babbersmolen?

Yes, from 1 April to 1 November every Saturday from 11.00 to 16.0015. The Babbersmolen at Schiedamsedijk 2a is a polder mill from 1710, according to the foundation the oldest surviving brick polder mill in the Netherlands15. You will find a miller's house, a farmyard with animals and a mini polder that children flood themselves and then pump dry again15. On 12 November 2026 entry was 1.50 euros for adults and 1 euro for children aged 2 to 1815. From De Drie Koornbloemen it is a six-minute bike ride17.

When can you climb all the windmills at once?

On National Mill Day, the second Saturday of May, and during Heritage Day (Open Monumentendag) on the second weekend of September, many windmills are open at the same time and free to climb3. S'DAM announces the next Mill Day for Saturday 8 May 202717. Not every windmill is suitable for children, because of steep stairs and stairwells1722.

If you cannot make an open day, walk the foundation's free windmill trail. You print the route yourself, in three levels, and it takes one to one and a half hours19. You can also see them from the water. In the 2027 season the 11.30 whisper boat passes six of the seven windmills, and the other departures pass three20.

Frequently asked questions

What is the tallest windmill in Schiedam?

At 33.3 metres, De Noord at Noordvest 38 is the tallest old windmill in Schiedam. Guinness World Records calls it the tallest working windmill in Europe. De Nolet of Nolet Distillery is taller, but that is a wind turbine in windmill form from 2005 that grinds no grain. De Noord houses the restaurant De Noordmolen.

Which windmill in Schiedam is open all year?

Museummolen De Walvisch at Westvest 229 is open all year, from Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00 to 17.00. You see a presentation about the windmills, the inner workings and the view from the stage. The Babbersmolen opens on Saturdays from April to November. The other windmills mainly open on National Mill Day.

Is a windmill visit suitable for children?

For families, the windmill foundation recommended De Walvisch, De Palmboom and the Babbersmolen on Mill Day 2026. De Walvisch has an activity booklet featuring Wally the windmill cat, and children can grind grain themselves there. On Mill Day some windmills have a minimum age, because the stairs are steep. The Babbersmolen has a mini polder to play with.

Sources

  1. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, De molens, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/de-molens
  2. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, Bezoek onze molens, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/bezoek-onze-molens
  3. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, F.A.Q., accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/f-a-q
  4. S'DAM, Windmill De Noord, accessed 12-11-2026: www.sdam.nl/uk/see-and-do/information/windmill-de-noord
  5. Wikipedia, De Noord (Schiedam) (secondary), accessed 12-11-2026: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Noord_(Schiedam)
  6. Guinness World Records, Tallest windmill - working (secondary), accessed 12-11-2026: www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/77181-tallest-windmill-working
  7. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, De Noord, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/de-noord
  8. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, De Walvisch, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/de-walvisch
  9. Nationaal Jenevermuseum Schiedam, Museummolen De Walvisch, accessed 12-11-2026: jenevermuseum.nl/museummolen
  10. Nationaal Jenevermuseum Schiedam, Contact en openingstijden, accessed 12-11-2026: jenevermuseum.nl/contact-en-openingstijden
  11. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, De Vrijheid, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/de-vrijheid
  12. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, De Drie Koornbloemen, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/de-drie-koornbloemen
  13. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, De Palmboom, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/de-palmboom
  14. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, De Kameel, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/de-kameel
  15. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, De Babbersmolen, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/de-babbersmolen
  16. S'DAM, Windmill De Nolet, accessed 12-11-2026: www.sdam.nl/uk/see-and-do/information/windmill-de-nolet
  17. S'DAM Uitagenda, Nationale Molendag Schiedam 2027, accessed 12-11-2026: www.sdam.nl/uitagenda/event/nationale-molendag-schiedam-2027
  18. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, Molen De Walvisch minder goed bereikbaar (20 september 2026), accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/molen-de-walvisch-minder-goed-bereikbaar
  19. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, Wandeling langs Schiedams molenerfgoed, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/wandeling-langs-schiedams-molenerfgoed
  20. S'DAM Uitagenda, Rondvaarten fluisterboot 2027, accessed 12-11-2026: www.sdam.nl/uitagenda/event/rondvaarten-fluisterboot-door-historisch-schiedam-2027
  21. Wikipedia, Schiedam (secondary), accessed 12-11-2026: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiedam
  22. Stichting De Schiedamse Molens, Schiedamse Molendag 9 mei 2026: dagprogramma, accessed 12-11-2026: www.deschiedamsemolens.nl/zaterdag-9-mei-schiedamse-molendag-programma

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