Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans is an open-air museum on the outskirts of Amsterdam, near the town of Zaandam. It features about 30 authentic Dutch houses collected from all over the country, several museums, a farm and 10 working mills. Zaansen Schans is a very popular tourist center. Tourists visiting Holland enjoy coming to this ethno-village as well, to better understand the traditions of the Dutch village.

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Highlights

The village of Zanse-Schans has the unforgettable atmosphere of Holland’s past: the blades of the old mills clanking quietly, the smell of freshly baked bread, the clog maker knocking in the clomp workshop, the cheese factory, always full of visitors. The village houses painted in green resemble pictures, with embroidered curtains, flowers on the windows, wicker furniture in the front gardens. Snow-white geese leisurely cross the street, and fat sheep graze in the meadows. Zaanse-Schans even has its own small, almost toy-like, but drawbridge.

This is a typical Dutch village from the past, and at the same time it is real, despite its status as a museum. In the 60-x of the last century in the neighborhood of the small town of Zaandam, not far from Amsterdam, were brought to the country preserved from the XVII-XVIII century mills, houses, which are examples of wooden architecture. They opened workshops, museums, souvenir shops. But at the same time, Zaanse-Schans is a real village where people live. Whether it is easy to live in a museum, which is visited by thousands of tourists every year is only for them.

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Sights of Zaanse Schans

Today, Zaanse Schans is one of the most striking popular attractions, attracting tourists from all over the world. The unique village, where people live and work, is a unique opportunity to plunge into the atmosphere of the Dutch village of the XVII – XVIII centuries, to see the ancient crafts that brought glory to Holland.

Tourists can visit six working mills, two of which press oil, two of which are sawmills, a mustard mill and a dye mill.

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Mills are a cult for Holland. The entire production life in the XVII century mills pulled on their blades. They ground everything: spices, grain, mustard, irrigated and drained the land. The mills that can be seen in the village of Zaanse-Schans are unique. All of them are restored and working. The oldest exhibits deserve special attention. The mill “De Heisman”, built in 1780 and now, as in the old days grinds mustard.

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The “Cat” is the only mill in the world today that produces paint. Its date of birth is 1646, and it was originally an oil mill. Its peer, “De Oyfar” was wind-powered until 1916 and has only recently been modernized. The “De Zuker” mill produces linseed, rapeseed and vegetable oil. “De Heckronde Poulenberg” is a mini sawmill. Like all the other mills, it was almost destroyed by fire and after rebuilding, it took a very long time to get it up and running due to faulty assembly.

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In addition to the mills, old packinghouses and houses of local residents, tourists are offered to visit unique workshops, where the traditions of old crafts have been preserved for several centuries.

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Klomp Craft Center

One of these craft centers allows you to see with your own eyes how traditional wooden clogs – klompas – are made.

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Klompas are the most favored souvenir by tourists around the world, in some ways these wooden clogs, along with mills and cheese, have become symbols of the Netherlands. They are given to high-ranking guests visiting the country, they are bought by thousands of tourists as a souvenir of their trip. Today they are used as shoes by modern farmers, unfortunately less and less.

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In the handicraft center you will have the opportunity to see the entire production cycle of these “miracle – shoes”, from the manufacture of a wooden block to hand-painting.

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Not far away is the Klomp Museum, which houses exhibits ranging from the most ancient ones, made centuries ago, to modern art objects.

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Other attractions of the village

In addition to the production of clomps, tourists will be offered to learn about tin smelting, the production of real Dutch cheese, and the painting of Delft porcelain.

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In the village and nearby, in addition to the “Zaans Museum”, which tells about the history of the industrial area of the Zaanstreeck district, there are several other objects of interest to tourists.

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These are the merchant’s house “Honig Bretuis”, located in Zaandijk, the museum of mills on the Zaan River, the house in Zaandaam, where Tsar Peter the Great lived when he studied shipbuilding in Holland.

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Numerous stores and souvenir stores offer pottery, cheese, mustard, textiles and klomps, and, of course, numerous postcards and magnets to remember Holland.

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Practical information

The village is open to visitors all year round, in winter some of the facilities are closed.Opening hours: daily from 9:00 to 17:00.Entrance to Zaanse Schans is free, but visits to craft centers, museums are paid separately. Entrance tickets cost from 3.00 EUR to 10.00 EUR. It is optimal to buy a Zaanse Schans Card, which allows you to visit the Zaanse Museum, clock museum, bakeryEntrance fee for adults 10.00 EUREntrance ticket for children from 4 to 17 years old 6.00 EUR

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How to get there

By train you have to go to Koog-Zaandijk station (ticket costs 3.20 EUR), travel time 17 minutes. From the station it takes about 10 minutes to walk to the village following the signs towards Zaanse Schans (Zaanse Schans). You can also get there by bus #91, which leaves every 30 minutes from Amsterdam Central Station and goes to the “Zaanse Museum”. Those arriving by car should know that parking costs 7.5 EUR for the whole day and 1 EUR for half an hour.

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