The Zaanse Schans is an open-air con­ser­va­tion area and muse­um, on the bank of the riv­er Zaan, north of Zaan­dam in the Nether­lands. It dis­plays the tra­di­tion­al archi­tec­ture of the area from the 17th and 18th cen­tu­ry and con­tains black and green tra­di­tion­al wood­en hous­es, sev­er­al func­tion­ing wind­mills and craftsmen’s work­shops, which are open to vis­i­tors.

The wind­mills per­formed a wide range of indus­tri­al duties includ­ing wood saw­ing, thresh­ing grains and for the pro­duc­tion of things like seed and nut oil.