Kinderdijk

A beautiful place with many windmills.
Kinderdijk was protected against the water by two authorities, the Overwaard (on the east side of the Middelkade) and the Nederwaard (on the west side of the Middelkade). In 1738, De Nederwaard built eight windmills, stone-ground sailors. The second mill is open to the public. De Overwaard also built eight windmills in 1740, these were octagonal ground sailors. Kinderdijk was the first Dutch town with an electricity supply, in 1886. Electricity was generated in Kinderdijk by the first power station in the Netherlands, designed and built by Willem Benjamin Smit, also one of the founders of Electrisch-Licht-Machinen Fabriek Willem Smit & Co. .

Various stories are circulating about the origins of the name Kinderdijk. The original name of the village is "Elshout".

The best-known story about the origin of the name Kinderdijk goes back to 1421 during the great St. Elisabeth flood. When the worst storm had passed, people went up the dike to see what could be saved and a cradle was seen floating in the distance. There was no hope that there would still be anything alive in it, but when it came closer they saw movement. When it got even closer, a cat was seen balancing the crib by bouncing back and forth so that no water could get into the crib. When the cradle was finally close to the dike, it was fished up. It turned out that there was still a baby in it, who slept soundly and dry.
Another story tells that the name Kinderdijk originated because the dike that runs through it was created with the help of child labour.
Another story tells that a certain Jan lived in a large house near Kinderdijk (Elshout). This Jan had many children and was therefore called 'Jan der Kindere'. Later the area where he lived was called Kinderdijk.
Another explanation is that the dike in question was low relative to surrounding dikes. The dike was therefore a smaller specimen, a "child".