Nederland - Schiedam, De Palmboom

Schiedam is home to the seven largest windmills in the world. Once there were more than 30 mills in the city. The majority of the so called 'brandersmolens' (malt mills) ground grain for the distilleries. To catch enough wind within the built-up area, and for greater storage and production capacity, the mills grew to be the tallest in the world. They have been joined in this century by two new mills, bringing the total number of malt mills to seven. These remaining ‘Giants of Schiedam’ are still characteristic of the city.

Windmill De Palmboom (The Palm Tree) is dating back to the year of 1781. The mill was used as a malt mill for the distilleries in Schiedam. The windmill was destroyed by a fire in 1901 and after that only two floors were used as storage space.

In 1993 a restoration and reconstruction started and the stage mill was renamed De Nieuwe Palmboom. Till 2018 it was used as a mill museum. It got back its original name and nowadays functions as office space and houses a documentation center.

The windmill in the background is ‘De Noord’ - one of the highest windmills in the world - nowadays housing a restaurant.