Viaje a Holanda

Día 8 Róterdam - Kinderdijk - Saint-Quentin (343 Km.)

Róterdam: Rotterdam is a major port city in the Netherlands located in the province of South Holland. Its origins date back to the 13th century when a dam was built on the Rotte River, giving the city its name. Over the centuries, it developed into a thriving commercial hub due to its strategic location. By the 17th century, it had become a significant center for shipbuilding and trade. The city's modern identity, however, was largely shaped by the devastation of World War II. On May 14, 1940, much of the historic city center was destroyed during a German aerial bombing. Rather than rebuilding in the traditional style, Rotterdam chose a path of modern architecture and urban innovation. Today, it is known for its avant-garde buildings, extensive port facilities, and urban planning experiments. With limited time during our visit, we focused on exploring the central area around the Markthal, which allowed us to walk between several iconic sites located close together.

We began at the Markthal, one of Rotterdam’s most recognized architectural landmarks. Opened in 2014, this large horseshoe-shaped building houses a market hall with food stalls, shops, and restaurants on the ground floor, while residential apartments line the arched interior. The ceiling features a massive digital artwork titled “Horn of Plenty” by Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam, covering 11,000 square meters with vivid depictions of fruits, vegetables, seeds, and insects. We walked through the central passage, stopping briefly to look at the various local and international food vendors. Just across the square from the Markthal is the Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk, the city’s only remaining late Gothic building. Built between 1449 and 1525, it was heavily damaged during the 1940 bombardment and later restored. We observed its large tower and entered to see the interior’s pipe organ, tombs, and restored medieval features.

Next, we moved on to the nearby Cube Houses (Kubuswoningen), designed by architect Piet Blom in the late 1970s. These tilted, cube-shaped residences are built atop hexagonal pylons and are arranged in a way that resembles a forest, with each cube representing a tree. One of the houses, known as the Kijk-Kubus, is open to the public as a museum, displaying the interior layout and functionality of the unconventional design. Adjacent to the Cube Houses lies the Oudehaven, or Old Harbor, one of the oldest parts of the city. Once part of Rotterdam's working port, it now functions as a marina. Moored historic boats and barges reflect the maritime past of the city. At the edge of the harbor stands the Witte Huis, or White House, Europe’s first skyscraper, built in 1898 in Art Nouveau style. The building survived the 1940 bombing and remains a symbol of pre-war Rotterdam. We walked along the harbor promenade, taking note of the preserved ships and waterfront cafés.

After leaving the Oudehaven area, we headed toward the Erasmusbrug, the cable-stayed bridge that spans the Nieuwe Maas River. Completed in 1996 and designed by Ben van Berkel, the bridge stretches over 800 meters and is nicknamed “The Swan” due to its asymmetrical pylon. From the bridge, we had a clear view of De Rotterdam, the massive glass-and-steel complex designed by Rem Koolhaas’s OMA studio. Completed in 2013, the structure consists of three interconnected towers and houses offices, apartments, a hotel, and conference spaces. As we crossed the bridge, the skyline of the southern part of the city came into view. With limited time, we decided to leave other notable attractions—such as Rotterdam Centraal Station, Stadhuisplein, Euromast, and the Delfshaven district—for a future visit. We then exited the city via the southern ring road, continuing our journey toward our next destination.

(a 26 Km.) Kinderdijk: Kinderdijk is a village located in the province of South Holland, approximately 15 kilometers east of Rotterdam. It is internationally known for its collection of historic windmills, which were built in the 18th century as part of a comprehensive water management system. The area lies below sea level, and the windmills were constructed to pump excess water from the low-lying polders into the nearby rivers. Today, the windmills of Kinderdijk are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated in 1997 for their significance in Dutch hydraulic engineering. The network of mills, pumping stations, dikes, and reservoirs in Kinderdijk represents an ongoing effort by the Dutch people to manage water and reclaim land. Most of the 19 mills that stand in the area were built between 1738 and 1740 and are still maintained in working condition. Kinderdijk remains both a historical site and an active landscape of water management.

We arrived in Kinderdijk with our own bicycles and began the visit by joining the cycling path that runs along the main canal, where most of the iconic windmills are located. We followed the paved route past several of the mills, stopping first at Museummolen Nederwaard, one of the few windmills open to the public. This mill, dating from 1738, is preserved as a museum and displays the living quarters of a traditional miller’s family, along with the wooden gears and water-lifting mechanisms. After visiting the interior, we continued our ride toward the Wisboomgemaal (Wisboom Pumping Station), a 19th-century steam-powered facility that replaced much of the manual drainage work done by windmills. The station contains a permanent exhibition explaining the development of Dutch water control methods and the role that Kinderdijk has played in that history.

Continuing our ride, we crossed over to the Overwaard side of the canal via a small footbridge that accommodates bicycles. Here we saw more 18th-century windmills arranged in a straight line along the water. Some of these mills contain double waterwheels, a design used to move water in two stages to a higher discharge canal. We followed the signage and read several interpretive panels describing how the position of each mill, the wind direction, and the water level determined which mill would operate at any given time. This section of the route was quieter and allowed us to see the full system of sluices, canals, and maintenance bridges. We also passed a few small service buildings used by the water authority to monitor and manage the system.

As we approached the end of our route, we followed the return path along the opposite bank of the canal, offering a view back toward the windmills we had visited earlier. We passed by Boerderij Nederwaard, a historic farm that was traditionally linked to the mill families and now stands as part of the preserved cultural landscape. Before completing the circuit, we made a final stop at the Kinderdijk Visitor Centre, located near the entrance. The center features a small exhibition, a viewing platform, and access to detailed information about the polder system. After taking in the overview of the site’s hydraulic engineering, we resumed our ride and exited the area by the same path we had entered, having completed a full loop of Kinderdijk’s cycling route with our own bicycles.

(a 317 Km.) Saint-Quentin: Cenamos en la animada Place de l'Hôtel de ville y pernoctamos en esta población francesa.