Nederland: wind- en watermolens

Windmill De Roos (The Rose) is located on the former city wall of Delft. The mill was built in 1679 on a roundel, a semi-circular defensive structure. A wooden post mill had already been standing on the same spot since 1500. This mill is the only remaining mill of the eighteen windmills in Delft. Originally De Roos was also made of wood. In steps, it was converted into a brick one, which gave the mill a special shape. For instance, the substructure is hexagonal and the superstructure round. In 1728, the dwelling house was built in a semicircle around the mill. Around 1760, the mill looked as it does today. The mill was in bad shape in the early 1980s. It was crooked due to a subsidence in 1929 and the cap was badly affected by a beetle. In 1988, the mill was refurbished and the superstructure straightened. Windill De Roos is still used for grinding flour; since spring 2015 it is grinding organic grain for private individuals, bakers and the catering industry. The mill is turning a couple of days a week and can be visited.

Singraven Water Mill: unique imposing 15th century watermill with three wheels, still used for grinding corn and sawing wood. See for more info: www.singraven.nl/nl/home

'Singraven' is an estate near the town of Denekamp. It includes a manor, a garden, a water mill, a carriage house and a number of farmhouses. The estate offers a versatile landscape with forests, lanes, fields, meadows, marshes and the ever-present river Dinkel. The water mill has been part of Landgoed Singraven (Singraven Estate) since 1448. The mill consists of an oil mill (no longer in operation and partly demolished, nowadays housing a restaurant), a corn mill and a saw mill. The corn mill and saw mill are still in operation and can be visited. The mill is run - mostly on Saturdays during summer time - by volunteer millers. Watermolen Singraven is the last water-driven undershot sawmill in the Netherlands. Its water supply comes from the small river Dinkel, which rises in the town of Holtwyck in Nordrein Westfalen (Germany). The mill has three water wheels, each with a diameter of 5.5 metres. The left wheel against the restaurant is from the former oil mill. The oil mill was demolished in the early 20th century, so the wheel is the only remaining part. The middle wheel is from the corn mill and the right wheel from the sawmill.

Singraven is an estate near the town of Denekamp. It includes a manor, a garden, a water mill, a carriage house and a number of farmhouses. The estate offers a versatile landscape with forests, lanes, fields, meadows, marshes and the ever-present river Dinkel. The water mill has been part of Landgoed Singraven (Singraven Estate) since 1448. The mill consists of an oil mill (no longer in operation and partly demolished, nowadays housing a restaurant), a corn mill and a saw mill. The corn mill and saw mill are still in operation and can be visited. The mill is run - mostly on Saturdays during summer time - by volunteer millers. Watermolen Singraven is the last water-driven undershot sawmill in the Netherlands. Its water supply comes from the small river Dinkel, which rises in the town of Holtwyck in Nordrein Westfalen (Germany). The mill has three water wheels, each with a diameter of 5.5 metres. The left wheel against the restaurant is from the former oil mill. The oil mill was demolished in the early 20th century, so the wheel is the only remaining part. The middle wheel is from the corn mill and the right wheel from the sawmill.

Singraven is an estate near the town of Denekamp. It includes a manor, a garden, a water mill, a carriage house and a number of farmhouses. The estate offers a versatile landscape with forests, lanes, fields, meadows, marshes and the ever-present river Dinkel. The water mill has been part of Landgoed Singraven (Singraven Estate) since 1448. The mill consists of an oil mill (no longer in operation and partly demolished, nowadays housing a restaurant), a corn mill and a saw mill. The corn mill and saw mill are still in operation and can be visited. The mill is run - mostly on Saturdays during summer time - by volunteer millers. Watermolen Singraven is the last water-driven undershot sawmill in the Netherlands. Its water supply comes from the small river Dinkel, which rises in the town of Holtwyck in Nordrein Westfalen (Germany). The mill has three water wheels, each with a diameter of 5.5 metres. The left wheel against the restaurant is from the former oil mill. The oil mill was demolished in the early 20th century, so the wheel is the only remaining part. The middle wheel is from the corn mill and the right wheel from the sawmill.

The authentic Bolwerksmolen (Stronghold Mill) was built in 1863 by the Elfrink brothers. They were timber merchants and asked for a permission from the municipality of Deventer ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/47478274 ) community to built a sawmill on a (former) stronghold of the city. The area on the IJssel riverbank was rich in timber and they wanted to use the windmill for sawing woods. The mill was named after its location: bolwerk means stronghold or bastion. The thatched octagonal smock mill ( stellingmolen ) stands on a square wooden base with a sawing shed. It has a slipway (PiP 1) for pulling tree trunks out of a small pond (PiP 2): due to the drought completely dry. The windmill has been damaged multiple times by natural disasters and human negligence. At the beginning of the 21st century the mill appeared to have subsided in such a way that a radical restoration was necessary. Since spring 2007 the mill returned to its original shape. Nowadays the Bolwerksmolen is owned by the municipality of Deventer and operated by a foundation. In the meantime this remarkable wind-powered mill has been turned into a museum; although with limited opening hours. If interested to visit check their website: www.bolwerksmolen.nl

Watermill Den Haller is most probably the oldest still existing watermill in the Netherlands and the only remaining mill in the village of Diepenheim. It was first mentioned in the year of 1169. In 1331 Jan van Diest , bishop of Utrecht, bought the mill as part of the domain of Diepenheim . In the 18th century the mill was owned by the city of Deventer. The city council sold the mill in 1870 to Jan Hallers, who already had been the miller for many years, and became its present name “Den Haller”. It is now owned by a local foundation. Watermill Den Haller is situated along the Diepenheimse Molenbeek in a protected rural area. It is a so called undershot mill and has three sets of millstones. The mill is open for visitors many days a week and is still used as a flour mill. More info (Dutch): www.molendatabase.nl/nederland/molen.php?nummer=787 www.watermolendenhaller.nl

Windmolen De Lelie’ (windmill the Lily), dates back to 1862. It is a so called smock mill. More info about the mill (Dutch): www.molendatabase.nl/nederland/molen.php?nummer=317

The Mallumsche Molen is a breastshot mill on the Berkel. A predecessor of the current mill is mentioned as early as 1424. In the 17th century, there were two mills on both banks of the river Berkel: a corn and a paper mill. In the 18th century, there is talk of a corn and oil mill. The corn mill, which burned down in 1746, was rebuilt two years later. The oil mill also burned down in 1755 and was rebuilt, but was demolished in 1917. The corn mill remained in operation until 1943 and became the property of the foundation De Mallumsche Molen in 1948 (since 2004 Stichting Eibergse Molens). This foundation started restoration that year; thirty years later, the mill was restored again. The Mallumsche Molen almost always has sufficient water and is still regularly used by volunteer millers.

The ‘Collse Watermolen’ (Watermill at Kollen) was built by monks in the 13th century. Later it became in possession of the Duke of Brabant. The watermill burned down and was rebuilt in 1681. Thee rmill is located along the river ‘Kleine Dommel’, which rises nearby the Belgian border. It has two undershot water wheels, which each serve a different mill. One is operating a corn mill and the other one an oil mill (pressing oil from rapeseed). Nowadays the mills are operated by volunteers and open to the public on Saturday mornings. Since 1972 the watermill is listed as a national monument. The ‘Collse Watermill’ is famous because Vincent van Gogh - living for a couple of years in nearby Nuenen - painted the mill in the year of 1884 (PiP 3).

Wimmenumer Molen (Wimmenumer Mill) - a polder mill that drained the Wmmenumer polder - was built in 1774, after its predecessor had been destroyed by a storm a year earlier. The polder was drained from around the middle of the 16th century; before or at the same time as two nearby lakes were drained. The windmill remained in operation until 1951, when it was taken over by an electric pumping station located next to the windmill. In 1953, the mill was rented to a private person, who bought it two years later from the water board. For the first few years, it was only a summer residence, but in 1967, the mill was restored and has an auxiliary function. Since then, the mill has been in operation regularly again. Wimmenumer Molen is named after the hamlet Wimmenum, which is situated north of Egmond aan den Hoef.

Already in the year 1565 there was a windmill in Elspeet. Perhaps it was this mill that burned to the ground in 1893. The present windmill De Hoop - the successor of the burnt down mill - originates from Wateringen, where it was built in 1847 as a poldermill. The year it was rebuilt in Elspeet is probably 1894. De Hoop was restored in 1962 and 1972, but after the last restoration it was no longer in use. For years the mill was very desolate. In November 2010 this came to an end with the start of a thorough restoration. Both the exterior and the interior were restored. In the spring of 2013 the mill could be used as a corn mill again. De Hoop is a special mill, because it is a combination of a belt (= man made mound) and a stelling (= stage tower) mill. Originally, a platform was attached to the 3.60-metre-high mound. During the last restoration, the platform was removed. There is a mill shop in the mound, which sells various types of flour.

Originally, the Vogelhoeksmolen - a small octagonal polder mill - was located north of Hemelum in the province of Friesland. The mill must have been built between 1855 and 1873. Until around 1947 the polder Vogelhoek, an area of approx. 50 ha, was drained by the mill. After it was out of operation, the mill fell into heavy decay and was finally demolished in 1970. The parts were transported to Adorp, where they were restored and stored in a mill maker's workshop. In 1984 - 20 years after the owner donated the mill to the museum - it was relocated in the Zuiderzeemuseum in Enkhuizen. The Vogelhoeksmolen is used for flushing the water on the museum grounds. The water needed for this will be drawn from the IJsselmeer. The windmill is equipped with a wooden mortar. In the year 2000 the wooden shaft broke and the sails came down. The wooden shaft has been replaced by a cast iron one. Since then, the Vogelhoeksmolen has been in frequent use.

One of the most well-known building in the valley of the river Geul is probably the Volmolen just outside the village of Epen. The mill was part of the broadcloth industry in Vaals. Because of the location of the mill on the Geul, there was an abundance of water available for vollen - that’s why the mill is named Volmolen - the fulling of the wool. There was not such a large amount of water in the vicinity of Vaals. The history of the Epener mill dates back to the 17th century. In 1680 there was already talk of an oil mill. Later it is said to have been used as a bark mill. It was only in the last decades of the 18th century that it became a fulling mill. The urine and rancid butter needed for the fulling process was discharged into the river Geul after use. So it is not strange that the Volmolen was built outside the village centre of Epen. The complex is situated between the Geul and a dug mill brook. Water is pumped up into the brook to increase the decay of the water at the waterwheel. The buildings, a mill house and a farm with attached barns, surround a courtyard. The walls of the buildings are built in various types of locally broken stone. In 1872 the mill was converted into a flour mill. After several renovations and restorations the Volmolen was put into a flour mill in 1977. The mill is now owned by the Vereniging tot Behoud van Natuurmonumenten (Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands). A foundation for the exploitation of the mill has a contract with a group of bakers for the supply of flour.

The Groetermolen (Groeter Mill) is a octagonal polder mill built in 1890, after its predecessor burned down a year earlier due to a lightning strike. The mill is a so-called ground sailer. Until 1977 the windmill was used exclusively for draining the Groeterpolder . In that year an electric pump was installed, as a result of which the windmill was no longer used. Today, both the windmill and the electric pumping station ensure the drainage of the 220 ha Groeterpolder . In 2020 the Groetermolen made over 933.000 rotations.

Molen L-Q is a reed-covered octagonal polder mill probably built around 1597. The mill drained the 298-hectare so-called section “L-Q” of the Zijpe and Haze Polder. The “L-Q section” was created in 1960 by merging the L and Q sections; Molen L-Q used to be called 'The L'. In 1962, a diesel engine was installed, which took the windmill out of service. The gradually decaying Molen L-Q was restored in the years 1972-1974 and has been operating more or less regularly ever since. The mill is located on the western side of the Noordhollandsch Kanaal, near the hamlet of Burgervlotbrug and is of great scenic significance in the open meadow area.

Although the mill is called Torenmolen van Gronsveld it is actually located in suburb of Maastricht. The city was during the construction of the windmill not as big as it is now and all local farmers were only allowed by the local governement to use this windmill. The Tower Mill of Gronsveld was built between 1618 and 1623 - in the elevationon which the mill is built a stone can be found with the inscription “1622”. The construction took place on behalf of Count Joest Maximilliaan van Gronsveld. De Molen van Gronsveld is the most southerly windmill in the Netherlands and the oldest in the province of Limburg. It is one of the few brick windmills in the Netherlands. Probably in 1766 the windmill was made a bit taller. This can be seen at the top end of the windmill. These kind of windmills usually go straight up, but its the top turns slightly inwards at the top (PiP). Between 1924 and 1930 the windmill was taken out of use. In 1941 it was restored. During the fighting on 13 September 1944 with the liberation of Maastricht the windmill and one of the houses next to it were shot at and caught fire. The flour mill has been restored again in 1959. In the beginning of the ‘70’s the windmill has been made in working order and is now regularly in use, grinding grain for farmers and bakers. Torenmolen van Gronsveld can be visted for free, although the opening hours are limited.

The ‘Achterlandse Molen is one of the three so called wip mills*, all located along the ‘Ammersche Boezem’ (PiP), nearby Groot-Ammers. The windmill is dating back to 1596 (or even earlier) and was used for draining the ‘Liesveld Polder’. The mill was also used for giving signals to other millers in the polder. By turning the sails into a certain position, the signal miller gave information about the water level to other millers. The ‘Achterlandse Molen’ is made habitable in 1865 and nowadays still inhabited. The mill was restored in 1978/1979 and in 2006 and is - on a voluntary base - still used for drainage. *there are two explanations of the Dutch name wip mill: - ‘wippen’ is meaning wobble, describing the movement of the mill when it is rotating quickly; - the scoop wheel ‘wipt’ (scoops) the water into the polder canal