HOLLAND, MI -- Towering above tulip fields and waterways is the De Zwaan windmill: A Netherlands experience without the plane ticket.
The scenic Windmill Island is Holland’s crown jewel for the city’s Dutch heritage − and an Instagram dupe for a European vacation.
The De Zwaan windmill came to Holland by way of Vinkel, Netherlands in 1964. It was the last windmill to leave the Netherlands before the country implemented the Heritage Act to keep historical, cultural pieces on its homeland.
The city of Holland built the 36-acre park around the historic windmill and opened it to the public in 1965.
Now you can climb the 68 steps to the top observation deck April through October. During the Tulip Time Festivals, the island is filled with 152,000 tulips.
RELATED: Holland planted the seeds with Tulip Time. Now the other 51 weeks are blossoming.
Over the last 60 years, an estimated six million visitors have been to the island.
De Zwaan’s exact birthdate isn’t known because millers would typically take pieces from other mills to repair and rebuild, but the mill was in its current state by 1888, said Matt Helmus, Windmill Island Gardens Development Manager.
By World War II, the windmill was no longer functioning at a grain mill. During the war, however, it was used as a lookout for the Dutch Resistance. This was a common use for windmills across Holland so Nazi pilots would shoot at windmills to scare off lookouts.
De Zwaan was caught in the line of fire and has several bullet holes in its cast iron blades. Those blades have been taken off the mill and are on display at the foot of the mill for visitors to inspect up close.
Today, the mill still turns and grain processing has returned after a pandemic pause. Millers are onsite learning the ropes to start back up this year so visitors can buy flour grained on property, Helmus said.
Several repairs have happened over the years to keep the historic mill running.
“I just started jokingly saying some of this mill is from straight from Menards,” Helmus said. “We always say you wouldn’t want a 1966 Mustang sitting in your driveway, that doesn’t work when you could just replace the radiator. So we have done work on it since it got here to keep it functioning, so it’s not just a big lawn ornament.”
Each year the island ‘welkoms’ about 150,000 visitors, half of those coming during the eight-day Tulip Time festival in May. Since the pandemic, the island has broken its visitor totals each year and started adding winter festivities like Magic at the Mill.
Visitors can also indulge in fudge, bike around the path or kayak down the Macatawa River.
The city runs a 24/7 Live Camera of Windmill Island where you get a clear shot of the windmill and its surroundings in real time, so you can check how busy it is before you go.
What: Windmill Island Gardens
Where: 1 Lincoln Ave., Holland. Free parking is available on-site.
When: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week, open mid-April through Oct. 1.
Tickets: $12 for adults, $6 for kids ages 3-15
RELATED: Check out what’s happening at the 95th Tulip Time Festival
Looking for more to do along Michigan’s Great Lakes? Check out MLive’s Lakeshore Travel series.
Stories by Lindsay Moore
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