Schellinkhout combines the history of water management with village architecture and places of remembrance. At De Grote Molen and the former pumping station, you can see the history of polder drainage; just outside the village lies De Uiterdijk on the Markermeer. These distinct focal points offer a way to explore the history of the village and its landscape without telling the same story.
Water Management and Polder History
De Grote Molen is an octagonal *binnenkruier* windmill, probably built between 1603 and 1638. It drained the 650-hectare Schellinkhout polder via a *kolk* and a drainage sluice into the former Zuiderzee. Its design, probable construction period and drainage function offer different historical points of reference: its architecture, the technology and the management of the polder water.
The Schellinkhout pumping station was built next to De Grote Molen in 1900 as a motor-powered pumping station. It is no longer used as such, but its machinery is still there. This makes it possible to distinguish the facilities by their function and status: the windmill is associated with historical polder drainage, while the motor operation and surviving machinery are the notable features of the former pumping station.
De Uiterdijk on the Markermeer
De Uiterdijk is an area outside the dike, just beyond Schellinkhout on the Markermeer. In early 2021, a kitesurfing beach was created there, east of the bathing beach, to separate swimming and kitesurfing safely. The focus here is on designing an area for different beach activities—a different emphasis from the historic water-management technology of the polder.
The dike and a route through Schellinkhout
The Uiterdijkroute follows the Westfriese Omringdijk and passes through Schellinkhout. The section covered by the route is part of the 126-kilometre-long dike. The length refers to the dike; here, the Uiterdijkroute is described in terms of its route through Schellinkhout.
Village church, town hall and remembrance
Schellinkhout’s village church stands at the foot of the IJsselmeer dike and has a two-manual organ made by P. Flaes in 1872. The former town hall at Dorpsweg 108 was built in 1765 by Jan Roos and Remmert Schuijt. A memorial bench in Schellinkhout was installed in 1951 as a gesture of thanks to the municipality for taking in evacuees from Nederhorst den Berg.
These places represent different aspects of the village’s history: the organ reflects the church’s historic furnishings, the town hall represents the history of municipal architecture, and the memorial bench commemorates the evacuees who were taken in. Together, they complement the history of the polders and water management with religious, civic and commemorative themes.
The wider setting of Drechterland
As a broader regional setting, Drechterland combines views across the IJsselmeer and agricultural landscapes with characteristic *stolpboerderijen* (pyramid-shaped farmhouses). The municipality invites you to explore by foot, boat and bicycle. This allows you to distinguish Schellinkhout’s specific village and building histories from Drechterland’s wider landscape and touring themes, and choose the focus of your stay accordingly.
Discover more destinations: Wijdenes, Hem, Westwoud, Oosterleek, Hoogkarspel, Venhuizen.
Back to the regional travel overview: Drechterland.
