Nederland: wind- en watermolens

Windmill ‘Rijn en Lek’ is dating back to 1659, when it was built on top of the - only remaining - medieval city gate of the town, the Leuterpoort. In the beginning it was used as a bark mill, but around 1820 it became a flourmill, which it still is. The mill stands proudly above the gate on the dike, next to the water meadow outside the city wall and nearly always catches enough wind. The ‘Rijn en Lek’ is the only drive-through-windmill in the world. It is often confused with the windmill painted by Ruisdael, called ‘The windmill at Wijk bij Duurstede’, which stood a few blocks away. The mill got its name ‘Rijn en Lek’ due to the fact that the Rhine changes its name into Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede.

The Molen van Otten (Mill of Otten) is located on a branch of the river Geul in the village of Wijlre. It is one of the few water mills in the Netherlands with a double water wheel. The history of the mill dates back to 1275, when it was built as a banmolen (mill soke) of the heerlijkheid (a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Dutch-speaking Low Countries before 1800) Wijlre. The first written mention, however, is from a clergy in the year 1420. A bill for the restoration of the mill by the then Lord of Wijlre, “Gerard Scheiffart van Merode”, indicates the year 1485. Traditionally this watermill was a flour and oil mill. The current mill building and the accompanying house date from 1776, as the wall anchors indicate. In that year, the existing buildings were completely rebuilt and a farm and a brewery were added. At that time, the owners of the complex were the Lords of Wijlre. They leased the house with mill, farm and brewery. When the Ancien Regime was abolished at the end of the 18th century, Kasteel Wijlre , the mill, the farm and the brewery came into the hands of “Guillaume Eugene de Massen”. In 1871, the brewery was sold separately to the brewer “Frederik Edmond Brand”; this was the beginning of Brand's brewery, which grew into one of the best-known breweries in Limburg. In the thirties of the 20th century the miller’s house was badly damaged by extremely high water of the river Geul. The mill fell into disrepair and restoration started after the mill was bought by the Otten family. Since then the mill has been called Molen van Otten . Since 1981 the mill is also used for small scale electricity production. Nowadays some holiday apartments have been created in the buildings. The Molen van Otten is a National Heritage Site.

D’Orangemolen (d'Orange Mill) is a round brick smock mill. The flour mill was built in 1734 by order of the Nassause Domeinraad for 8.000 florins. The mill was owned by the Princes of Orange. Prins Maurits leased the mill to the miller who offered the most. It was called the ‘compulsive mill’ because all local farmers were obliged to use d'Orangemolen for grinding their grain. The mill was restored in 1999 and the wings were also reinstalled. In 2004 the mill was in operation again after 40 or 50 years. Nowadays the mill is privately owned and used as a home Willem van Oranje (William of Orange) gave his name to the town of Willemstad. Yet the town does not owe its existence to him but to the marquis of Bergen op Zoom, Jan IV of Glymes. He ordered that some salt marshes should be drained and surrounded by dykes. That’s were the village of Ruygenhil came into being in 1565. In 1582 the Province of Brabant gave the village to prins Willem van Oranje in compensation for what he had spent and lost in the “cause of freedom”. After his dead in 1584 his son Prince Maurits named the town Willemstad (William’s Town), as we call it in Dutch.

Watermill Den Helder is a former double undershot corn and oil watermill on the course of the Boven-Slinge near Winterswijk. The watermill is a Dutch national monument. The earliest known mention of the mill dates back to 1303 when it was part of Havezate Plekenpol (a manor or fortified farmhouse). For many years, the mill was called Plekenpolsemolen . At the end of the 19th century, the mill came into the possession of "Jan Helder" and was named Den Helder ever since. In 1922, the mill was sold by auction to “Derk Jan Berenschot”, owner of another water mill nearby. He bought the mills to eliminate competition for his own mill. From 1923, therefore, the mills are no longer in operation. An ice cream parlour was established in the oil mill and the corn mill became a cafe after a conversion in 1934. From the 1970s in the last century, the water mills slowly fell into disrepair. A thorough restoration was completed in 2016 and the watermill is once again operating, albeit for electricity generation. The two buildings have since been used as homes.

Berenschot's Watermolen is located on the river Boven-Slinge and was built in 1749. An mention from 1652 refers to the predecessor of the current mill. Originally, the complex consisted of two mills: a corn mill (now Berenschot's Watermolen ) and an oil mill on the other side of the stream. Between 1652 and 1718, the two mills were owned by the Van Eerde family, owners of the Hazezate Plekenpol (a manor or fortified farmhouse). A new owner had the present mill building built in 1749. Probably the old mill had fallen into too much disrepair. In 1848, the oil mill collapsed and was never rebuilt. In 1911, G.W. Berenschot bought the corn mill, to which it owes its name. In 1960, the mill fell out of use after a major flood and lasted until the 1980s. All those years, there was talk of a restoration, but no action was taken. By the end of 1984, the time had come and the mill was given a major overhaul. Between 1988 and 1991, part of the mill building was restored and converted into a restaurant. The mill/restaurant (a Dutch national monument) is still owned by the Berenschot family.

Flour mill "Nooit Gedagt" is standing on one of the bastions of the fortress of Woudrichem. Originally the mill was built in the year of 1682 and was destroyed during World War II. "Nooit Gedagt" was rebuilt and reopened in 1996. Woudrichem itself is one of the official eleven Dutch fortress towns and its name ‘Walrichsheim' was already found in the year of 866. It became known as Woudrichem as from 1290, and could already be considered a town at that time, having a sheriff, aldermen and a council. It became city rights in 1356. For another view of the same windmill: www.ipernity.com/doc/327263/28234661/in/group/100944

Sawmill (houtzaagmolen) De Jager is a typical Frisian mill, built most probably in 1719. On the right hand side the former miller house.

Zaanse Schans: some of the windmills along the Zaan. See for more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaanse_Schans

The area around the Zaanse Schans , called the Zaanstreek, once was the largest industrial zone in Western Europe. During the 18th and 19th century heyday it used to have more than 600 windmills; 245 were sawing mills and 160 oil mills. Built for industrial functions, they were used for grinding grain, making wood for shipbuilding, pressing oil from seeds, making paper from hemp and a lot of cocoa was also produced in the Zaan region. Starting in the 1960’s, these historical mills and other threatened and antique buildings were moved to the Zaanse Schans to create a collection and to preserve them. Nowadays there are 12 windmills on the Zaanse Schans and four more in the vicinity. Most of the mills were moved in the last century, some stood already at their current location along the river Zaan and some have been completely rebuilt according to the original plans. Most of the mills are owned by the Vereniging de Zaansche Molen , which is also responsible for the maintenance and operation of the mills. Seven fully operative windmills and the mill museum belonging to them can be visited. The Zaanse Schans is one of the most popular windmill sites in the Netherlands.

The Zaanse Schans is a residential neighbourhood in which the 18th and 19th centuries are brought to life. It is best known for its collection of well-preserved historic houses and windmills . The Zaanse Schans is a unique and one of the most visited places in the Netherlands, with green wooden houses, windmills, barns and typical Dutch crafts. From 1961 to 1974 old buildings from all over the Zaanstreek were relocated using lowboy trailers to the area. Zaanse Schans derived its name from the river Zaan and its original function as sconce (schans in Dutch) against the Spanish troops during the Eighty Years' War. Main image: panorama of some of the windmills PiP1: De Huisman, a spice mill PiP2: De Gekroonde Poelenburg, a saw mill PiP3: De Kat, a paint mill

The Zaanse Schans is a residential neighbourhood in which the 18th and 19th centuries are brought to life. It is best known for its collection of well-preserved historic houses and windmills. The Zaanse Schans is a unique and one of the most visited places in the Netherlands, with green wooden houses, windmills, barns and typical Dutch crafts. From 1961 to 1974 old buildings from all over the region were relocated using lowboy trailers to the area. Zaanse Schans derived its name from the river Zaan and its original function as sconce (“schans” in Dutch) against the Spanish troops during the Eighty Years' War. The area around the Zaanse Schans , called the Zaanstreek , once was the largest industrial zone in Western Europe. During the 18th and 19th century heyday it used to have more than 600 windmills; 245 were sawing mills and 160 oil mills. Built for industrial functions, they were used for grinding grain, making wood for shipbuilding, pressing oil from seeds, makling paper from hemp and a lot of cocoa was also produced in the Zaan region. Starting in the 1960’s, these historical mills and other threatened and antique buildings were moved to the Zaanse Schans to create a collection and to preserve them. Nowadays there are 12 windmills on the <and four more in the vicinity. Most of the mills were moved in the last century, some stood already at their current location along the river Zaan and some have been completely rebuilt according to the original plans. Most of the mills are owned by the Vereniging de Zaansche Molen , which is also responsible for the maintenance and operation of the mills. Seven fully operative windmills and the Molenmuseum (Mill Museum) can be visited.

Flour mill De Hoop was built in 1782, when it was used as a saw mill - named De Haan - in the city of Leiden. In 1865 the mill was moved to the village ‘t Zand in North Holland, where it served as a flour mill until the 1920s. In 1940, the mill was increasingly dismantled; only the octagonal thatched body was preserved in reasonable condition. At the beginning of this century, the idea arose to restore the mill to its former glory. This was no longer possible in its old location and so the mill was moved about 400 meters to its current location in 2011. From May 2013 the mill can be visited again and every now and then wheat is grounded. In and around De Hoop is a small museum (limited opening hours) about its history. The grounds are also used for a campground for campers

‘De Wachter’ is an octagonal smock mill ( stellingmolen ). The three storey smock mill has a base of a four storey brick base. The stage is at 9,55 metres above ground level. The smock and cap are both thatched. The sails have a span of 22 metres. The flour and oil mill was built in 1851 for the family Van Bon; the first miller. In 1895 the mill was bought by Jan Medendorp, who installed two steam engines; one of these engines was used to power a spice mill. In 1935 the oil mill and spice mill ceased to be used and were dismantled, as were the steam engines. Between 1968 and 1970 the mill was restored, as the rest of the of the mill was later. In 1989 the mill was transferred into the ownership of a foundation (‘Stichting Koren- en Oliemolen De Wachter’). Nowadays ‘De Wachter’ is a cultural-historical museum (with limited opening hours). Apart from the flour, oil and spices mill the complex houses period shops and a couple of workshops. These are all presented as they would have appeared in 1895. (For more info: www.dewachter.nl)

Modified and extended slide show, now uploaded to promote Ipernity on my own YouTube channel. www.youtube.com/watch?v=887pGZR9Qzw Please view and comment on YouTube. A journey along some of the 1,170 Dutch windmills. In the year 1221 a Dutch windmill is mentioned for the first time. These landmarks of the landscape were/are used for grinding grain, sawing wood, making paper, pressing oil or even draining entire polders. See for more info Ipernity/Advertising/Youtube: www.ipernity.com/group/advertising/discuss/195370 . More pictures of Dutch Windmills: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/album/537909 .

Peat digging and floods developed the river Schermer into an inland lake with an open connection with the sea. Private investors started draining the lake between 1633 and 1635. For this huge job 52 windmills were used. The bottom of the Schermer lies more than 4 metres below sea level and windmills had to convey the water in several steps from one canal to the next. The mills on the reclaimed land of the Schermer (in Dutch: ‘droogmakerij’ or ‘polder’) worked so well that people switched to electrical pumping stations for controlling water levels not before 1928. There are still 11 windmills left in the Schermer, 5 of them nearby the village of Schermerhorn. One of them - the central mill in the PiP - nowadays houses Museummolen Schermerhorn . Visitors can see how a poldermill worked and how people used to live in it.