The out­stand­ing con­tri­bu­tion made by the peo­ple of the Nether­lands to the tech­nol­o­gy of han­dling water is admirably demon­strat­ed by the instal­la­tions in the Kinderdijk-Elshout area. Con­struc­tion of hydraulic works for the drainage of land for agri­cul­ture and set­tle­ment began in the Mid­dle Ages and have con­tin­ued unin­ter­rupt­ed­ly to the present day. The site illus­trates all the typ­i­cal fea­tures asso­ci­at­ed with this tech­nol­o­gy — dykes, reser­voirs, pump­ing sta­tions, admin­is­tra­tive build­ings and a series of beau­ti­ful­ly pre­served wind­mills.