Sawmill Het Jonge Schaap, Zaandam, Przewodnik dla zwiedzających i co robić w okolicy

Sawmill Het Jonge Schaap is a wind-powered sawmill on the Kalverringdijk at the Zaanse Schans in Zaandam, in the Netherlands. It is a reconstruction of the kind of mill that once cut timber for Dutch shipbuilding and construction, and it shows how the Zaan region grew into one of Europe's early industrial areas.

The story behind it

From the 17th century the banks of the Zaan were lined with windmills, and many of them were sawmills. Wind power made it far quicker to cut heavy logs into planks than sawing by hand. Most of the timber arrived by water: logs were tied into rafts or log booms and guided along the region's waterways to the mills.

Het Jonge Schaap is a reconstruction built in the late 20th century, in the style of the traditional paltrok sawmill. That is why you can still see how the trade worked. Beside the mill, logs often lie in the river. This is called watering: storing timber in water, a traditional way of keeping logs from drying out and cracking before they are sawn. It takes time and space, so it is much less common today.

What to look for

• Look at the logs lying in the Zaan next to the mill, which show the old practice of watering timber.
• Notice the shape of the mill, a paltrok type, where the whole body turns so the sails can face the wind.
• Check the sails and how they sit against the sky, especially when the wind is up and the mill is working.
• Look along the dike and the river for the neighbouring mills, which give a sense of how crowded this industrial landscape once was.

Tips for your visit

• Allow around 20 to 30 minutes for the mill and its waterside, longer if you go inside or stop to watch the logs.
• Early morning or late afternoon is usually quieter and gives softer light for photos along the water.
• Walking around the Zaanse Schans area is easy on foot. Check current opening hours before you plan to go inside the mill.
• Other mills, workshops and the Zaans Museum are close by, so it fits well into a longer walk through the area.

See it on a quest

The Mystery of the Zaanse Schans: Whispers of the Windmills, Zaandam brings you to Het Jonge Schaap on foot as one stop of a longer route through the Zaanse Schans. The app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so the mill and its logs become something to look at closely rather than just photograph. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.