diff --git a/src/pya/pya/pya.cc b/src/pya/pya/pya.cc
index 41a421b62..45c4a6fa1 100644
--- a/src/pya/pya/pya.cc
+++ b/src/pya/pya/pya.cc
@@ -326,6 +326,19 @@ PythonInterpreter::PythonInterpreter (bool embedded)
     tl::warn << tl::to_string (tr ("Unable to find built-in Python module library path"));
   }
 
+  //  Supply a DLL load path for certain Python versions and on Windows
+  define_variable ("__klayout_dll_path", tl::dirname (app_path));
+  //  NOTE: there is no API I know of ...
+  eval_string (
+    "import os\n"
+    "try:\n"
+    "  global __klayout_dll_path\n"
+    "  os.add_dll_directory(__klayout_dll_path)\n"
+    "except:\n"
+    "  pass\n"    //  on Windows or older versions of Python
+  );
+
+  //  Import the pya module
   PyObject *pya_module = PyImport_ImportModule (pya_module_name);
   if (pya_module == NULL) {
     check_error ();