Staff and volunteers of Kinderdijk lined up on the bridge facing the Wisboom pumping station.

The driving force behind our heritage

Kinderdijk World Heritage’s Volunteers

Kinderdijk UNESCO World Heritage Site is so much more than just windmills: it’s a place where history, nature, and people come together.

And that’s largely thanks to our volunteers who dedicate their time, knowledge, hard work, and enthusiasm to look after this unique part of the Netherlands. They can discuss everything with us, contributing their ideas and working hard to make this site even more appealing to thousands of visitors.

They work with our staff and the windmills’ residents to ensure that Kinderdijk is preserved as a unique part of our living heritage so we can continue to visit it, live in it and experience it.

What do our volunteers do?

Our volunteers work in various parts of Kinderdijk. They welcome visitors, tell stories, see to the upkeep, crew the tour boats, and help us develop new ideas. Each of these roles helps keep our World Heritage alive.

A volunteer in Kinderdijk helps visitors purchase tickets at the Visitor Center.

Hospitality and reception

Our hosts and cashiers are the “front end” of Kinderdijk, the first people visitors meet at Kinderdijk. They greet visitors from the Netherlands and the rest of the world, explain about our World Heritage, and make sure that everyone feels welcome.

A guide in Kinderdijk attire is giving an explanation to a group of visitors at the Nederwaard Museum Mill in Kinderdijk.

Guided tours

Local guides take groups on a journey into Kinderdijk’s past: from water management to life in a windmill. Their knowledge and enthusiasm really bring this area to life for the groups visiting Kinderdijk World Heritage Site.

Visitors watch as a volunteer blacksmith works in the forge of the Wisboom Pumping Station in Kinderdijk.

Practical assistance

Handy helpers ensure that we can keep the wind in our sails at Kinderdijk, literally and metaphorically. Our handymen and women take care of all the small maintenance jobs in and around the windmill area, working directly to preserve our World Heritage.

Two volunteer skippers in Kinderdijk on board the tour boat,

All aboard

Our skippers take visitors on boat trips past the windmills, showing them Kinderdijk from the water and making sure that the tour is both fun and safe.

The staff and volunteers of Kinderdijk on the bridge, with the windmills visible in the distance in the background.

New ideas and teamwork

The Volunteer Council of committed volunteers who work at this World Heritage Site actively contributes suggestions for improvements and new ideas. Together, we work to protect Kinderdijk’s future.

A volunteer in Kinderdijk helps a visitor with tickets at the Visitor Center.