The Kingdom of the Netherlands boasts ten World Heritage Sites acknowledged by UNESCO. Nine of these locations can be found in Holland; the tenth is located on the island of Curaçao. These extraordinary sites tell the story of Holland and the Dutch in relation to water management, society, and design. As the Dutch used to do things and always will.

1a Gemaalweg
Lemmer, FR

Visitors to the Frisian town of Lemmer will see it from a great distance away: the 60-metre-tall chimney of one of Holland’s most splendid and innovative monuments, the D.F. Woudagemaal pumping station. In a beautiful building inspired by the Amsterdam School style, sits the only steam-powered pumping station in the world.

Van Nelle Factory

Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

The canal ring area in Amsterdam, the Kinderdijk windmills... Holland already boasted nine beautiful monuments on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Number 10, the Van Nellefabriek, was added on 21 June 2014. With its use of materials like glass and steel and the resulting volume of light and space, UNESCO describes the plant as an ‘icon of Dutch modernism'.

Amsterdam, NH

A visit to Amsterdam isn’t complete without enjoying the canals. They are a symbol of Amsterdam and of great cultural and historical value. In 2010 the World Heritage Committee decided to submit the 17th century canal ring area in Amsterdam to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Utrecht, NH

The Defense Line of Amsterdam was built between 1880 and 1914 and consists of a connected network of locks, forts, dikes, ammunition depots and barracks. The defense network used water to slow down or even repel potential enemies, just as the Dutch Water Line, another defense line, was used. The Defense Line of Amsterdam is included on the World Heritage List and is considered a monument of great cultural and historical value.

Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk, South Holland, Netherlands

In the beautiful wetlands around Dordrecht, you will find the windmills of Kinderdijk. Nineteen beautiful windmills, built around 1740, stand here as part of a larger water management system to prevent floods. Today, they symbolise Dutch water management, and in 1997 they were declared to be UNESCO World Heritage.

Beemster

North Holland, Netherlands

The UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Beemster and De Schermer form a unique polder area that shows how the Dutch have controlled the waters and used them to their advantage for centuries.

The Wadden Sea is a world with two faces. One moment everything is under water and the next moment you can walk on the seabed. Experience "running aground" on a historical sailboat in the middle of the Wadden Sea. In the shallow waters of the Wadden Sea there are approximately fifty islands along the coast of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. The first islands are the five Dutch Wadden Islands and they are all “pearls in the sea”, each with its own atmosphere and character.

50 Prins Hendriklaan
Utrecht, UT

Designed in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964), the Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht is a UNESCO World Heritage site, considered the architectural masterpiece of modern art movement De Stijl.

Schokland

Schokland, Flevoland, Netherlands

Schokland is a former island in the Zuiderzee and is seen throughout the world as the ultimate symbol of the Dutch fight against the waters. Visit this dry island to find out why.

Willemsoord

Willemsoord, Overijssel, Netherlands

The Colonies of Benevolence, known as Koloniën van Weldadigheid in Dutch, were a unique social and agricultural experiment established in the early 19th century in the Netherlands. The purpose of these colonies was to alleviate poverty and social problems by providing a new start for the impoverished and unemployed. The colonies were founded by a philanthropist named Johannes van den Bosch in 1818. Van den Bosch believed that the poor could be rehabilitated through hard work and moral education. The colonies were initially established in remote areas, such as Frederiksoord, Wilhelminaoord, and Veenhuizen, in the northern provinces of Drenthe and Overijssel.

Nijmegen

Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands

The Lower German Limes in the Netherlands refers to the section of the Roman frontier line that extended along the Rhine River within the boundaries of present-day Netherlands. This portion of the Limes played a crucial role in the Roman Empire's defense and control of the region. The Dutch section of the Lower German Limes comprised a network of forts, watchtowers, and associated structures strategically positioned along the Rhine. These forts, such as Albaniana (Alphen aan den Rijn), Praetorium Agrippinae (Valkenburg), and Traiectum (Utrecht), served as strongholds for the Roman military and helped safeguard Roman territories and trade routes.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands boasts ten World Heritage Sites acknowledged by UNESCO. Nine of these locations can be found in Holland; the tenth is located on the island of Curaçao. These extraordinary sites tell the story of Holland and the Dutch in relation to water management, society, and design. As the Dutch used to do things and always will.