In 1634 drainage work started in the Scher lake. In order to transform this lake into 4,700 acres of fertile land and to keep it dry 52 windmills were built. This resulted in the ‘Schermer polder’ which was kept dry with the help of wind power up to 1927.

Because of the relatively large difference in height (over 4 meters), a phased drainage system was used. Windmills in the polder drained the lowest-lying parts and pumped the water into canals. From these canals the water was brought up by other windmills over a height of 1 meter, etc.

From the original 52 windmills only 11 survived the times. These windmills are still inhabited by volunteer millers. One of the windmills, the ‘Ondermolen D’, is a museum. Here you can not only see how windmills are built and operated, but you can also get a good impression of life in and around a windmill. The living quarters of the mill are still completely original.

The visitor’s center has information on various polders, how they were created and managed.