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    Zaanse Schans

    Netherlands

    Zaanse Schans

    VillageCulture

    The Zaanse Schans is a living open-air museum on the River Zaan north of Amsterdam: green wooden houses, craft workshops, and a series of working windmills show what the oldest industrial area of the Netherlands once looked like.

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    9. Zaanse Schans
    The Zaanse Schans is a living open-air museum on the River Zaan north of Amsterdam: green wooden houses, craft workshops, and a series of working windmills show what the oldest industrial area of the Netherlands once looked like. With around 1.9 million visitors annually, it is one of the most visited destinations in the country.Between 1961 and 1974, many historic buildings from the Zaanstreek were moved here and reconstructed. On display are a paint mill, sawmills and oil mills, a clog workshop, a cheese factory, and the Zaans Museum covering the region's industrial history.
    Zaanse Schans is located in the municipality of Zaanstad on the banks of the Zaan, opposite Zaandijk. Its name dates back to a fortification from 1574. Between 1961 and 1974, historical wooden houses and windmills from across the Zaanstreek were relocated here to preserve the heritage of the Netherlands' oldest industrial area. Many houses are inhabited – so you're moving through a real village, not just a backdrop. With around 1.9 million visitors annually, it's often busy here.

    Sights in Zaanse Schans

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Paint Mill De Kat
    Historic Landmark

    Paint Mill De Kat

    The mill was built in 1646 as an oil mill, rebuilt in 1782, and moved to its current location in 1960. Today, as a color mill, it grinds raw materials for color pigments; you can visit its interior for an admission fee.
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    Sawmill Het Jonge Schaap
    Museum

    Sawmill Het Jonge Schaap

    At the wood sawmill on Kalverringdijk, you'll see how wind power saws logs into boards. An admission fee is charged for an interior visit.
    Open in Google Maps
    Oil mill De Zoeker
    Attraction

    Oil mill De Zoeker

    One of several oil mills at the Zaanse Schans, right next to the Het Jonge Schaap sawmill on Kalverringdijk.
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    Wooden Shoe Workshop (Klompenmakerij)
    Museum

    Wooden Shoe Workshop (Klompenmakerij)

    In the family-run workshop, demonstrations show how wooden shoes are made. A small museum and a shop are also included; admission is free.
    Open in Google Maps

    Sights in Zaanse Schans

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    Paint Mill De Kat
    Historic Landmark

    1Paint Mill De Kat

    The mill was built in 1646 as an oil mill, rebuilt in 1782, and moved to its current location in 1960. Today, as a color mill, it grinds raw materials for color pigments; you can visit its interior for an admission fee.
    Open in Google Maps
    Sawmill Het Jonge Schaap
    Museum

    2Sawmill Het Jonge Schaap

    At the wood sawmill on Kalverringdijk, you'll see how wind power saws logs into boards. An admission fee is charged for an interior visit.
    Open in Google Maps
    Oil mill De Zoeker
    Attraction

    3Oil mill De Zoeker

    One of several oil mills at the Zaanse Schans, right next to the Het Jonge Schaap sawmill on Kalverringdijk.
    Open in Google Maps
    Wooden Shoe Workshop (Klompenmakerij)
    Museum

    4Wooden Shoe Workshop (Klompenmakerij)

    In the family-run workshop, demonstrations show how wooden shoes are made. A small museum and a shop are also included; admission is free.
    Open in Google Maps

    Restaurants in Zaanse Schans

    Mills and Handicrafts

    The WindmillsAlong the river stand windmills with various functions:De Kat: Paint millHet Jonge Schaap and Het Klaverblad: SawmillsDe Gekroonde Poelenburg: Paltrok sawmillDe Zoeker, De Os and De Bonte Hen: Oil millsDe Huisman: Spice millMuseums and WorkshopsZaans Museum: Industrial history of the Zaanstreek.Clog Workshop, Cheese Dairy, Cooperage, Bakery Museum, and Clock MuseumAlbert Heijn Shop: Recreation of the supermarket chain's first store.

    Arrival & Admission

    ArrivalThe nearest train station is Zaandijk Zaanse Schans. Sprinter trains from Amsterdam stop there twice an hour, with two additional trains per hour during weekdays daytime.AdmissionGrounds: The open-air grounds and the clog workshop are freely accessible. To visit the windmills and historical houses from the inside, an admission fee applies.Planned Admission Fee: The municipality of Zaanstad plans to introduce an admission ticket for tourists. Its introduction has been postponed by about a year from early 2026 to April 2027. Please check the current status before your visit.

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    Nearby

    Amsterdam

    Amsterdam

    Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and by far its most visited destination: a city of 165 canals and almost 1,300 bridges, whose 17th-century canal ring has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2010. Here, Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" hangs in the Rijksmuseum, along with the world's most famous Van Gogh collection, and here stands the Anne Frank House.The city originated in the 13th century on a dam in the Amstel and is located on the IJ, a former sea inlet. With approximately 936,000 inhabitants, it is the country's largest city; however, the government and parliament are situated in The Hague, about 60 kilometers away.
    North Holland

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    Noord-Holland is the peninsula between the North Sea and the IJsselmeer and, with Amsterdam, the most visited province of the Netherlands. Besides the capital, it features Haarlem, the cheese city Alkmaar, the old port towns Hoorn and Enkhuizen, and the Wadden Island Texel.More than half of the province consists of reclaimed polders. Behind the dunes of Kennemerland stretches flat geestland, north of Amsterdam the watery Waterland, and in the southeast the forests and heathlands of Het Gooi.
    Haarlem

    Haarlem

    Haarlem is the capital of the province of Noord-Holland and is located just 19 kilometers west of Amsterdam – a canal city with a Gothic main church on the Grote Markt, picturesque 17th and 18th-century residential courtyards, and the oldest museum in the Netherlands. Many visitors combine it with a day trip from Amsterdam or with the beach, as the North Sea coast is only about seven kilometers away.The city on the Spaarne River has a population of around 169,000. In 1839, the first train in the Netherlands departed from here for Amsterdam; today's station building from 1908 is the country's only Art Nouveau train station.
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    Alkmaar

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