Zaanse Schans · The Green Houses

Along the river bank at Zaanse Schans stand more than a dozen wooden windmills, with houses painted dark green and red tile roofs. This was once a place for grinding pigments, sawing wood and pressing oil; the windmills were the machinery.

The village stories tell of “the miller and his secret”: the speed of a mill and the setting of its sails follow rules, and which work belongs to which wind was passed on by word of mouth only, never written down.

On a day when visitors come to take photographs, the village clog maker is still making clogs. He says: this craft is not for the visitors to watch, it is what we were already doing.

Folklore / Zaanse Schans · Netherlands / Time immemorial