Jaap van 't Veen's photos

San Luis de Sabinillas was originally a fishing village, developing over the past hundred years. As in almost all Spanish fishing villages not much importance was attached to aesthetics and architecture and the old town is a jumble of structures. Like most places along the Costa del Sol the village has grown rapidly over the last decade and lives more from tourism than from fishing. Sabinillas has a relatively authentic feel and has probably one of the few boulevards and beaches not spoiled by huge and ugly buildings.

Vadstena Slott (Vadstena Castle) is a former royal castle, originally built by King Gustav I in 1545 as a fortress to protect Stockholm from possible attacks by the Danes and the Smålanders. The fortress consisted of three smaller stone buildings facing Lake Vättern, three 31-meter wide ramparts, a courtyard, a moat and four circular cannon turrets. However, the plans changed and in the 1550s the reconstruction from fortress into a habitable castle began and the buildings were turned into a Renaissance palace for Duke Magnus, the King’s son. It was not fully completed until 1620. It is still one of Sweden’s best examples of Renaissance architecture. Vadstena Castle was a royal palace until 1716, when the royal family lost interest in it; after which it became a storage barn for grain. The original ramparts were torn down in the 19th century and the present impressive ramparts were inaugurated in 1999 Since 1899, the castle has housed the Provincial Archives and nowadays it houses also the International Vadstena Academy, an opera house and the Castle Museum

‘Huis Doorn’ was first mentioned in the year of 838 as ‘Villa Thorhem’. Later this ‘Hof Doorn’ was owned by a deanery. Around 1200 the castle is owned by the dean of the cathedral itself and used as monastic grange. The oldest parts of ‘Huis Doorn’ are dating back to the end of the 13th century and (most probably) built by dean Adolf van Waldeck. In 13 22 the castle was completely destroyed and rebuilt twenty-five years later as a moated seat. In the following centuries the castle had many owners and was often renovated and expanded. At the end of the 18th century it was converted into an elegant country house, still with a moat. The surrounding park was laid out as an English landscape garden. At the end of World War I the last German Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to the neutral Netherlands, where he was given political asylum. After a stay in Castle Amerongen he bought ‘Huis Doorn’ in 1919. After extensive alterations he finally moved to Doorn in May 1920, where he lived in exile until his death in June 1941. He is buried in a mausoleum in the gardens (PiP 3). After the German occupation in World War II, the house was seized by the Dutch government as hostile property. Nowadays - still owned by the government - it houses a museum about World War I and the life of Kaiser Wilhelm II in ‘Huis Doorn’.

Huize Dickninge (Manor Dickninge) is located in a beautiful region around De Wijk with lots of manors and estates. Its history is dating back to the late Middle Ages; in the year of 1325 the Benedictine monastery ‘Soetendale’ moved from Ruinen to Dickninge. It was inhabited by monks and nuns till 1652. In 1796 the buildings were bought by Reint Hendrik de Vos van Steenwijk. After a demolition Manor Dickninge was rebuild in 1813 in an Empire-style. The garden is dating back to 1820 and is famous for the - quite rare in the Netherlands - blooming Hollowroot in spring: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/41492970

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.

Dwingelderveld National Park is a heathland and woodland reserve of 3,700 hectares in the south-western part of the province of Drenthe in the Netherlands. It is Europe's largest wet moorland area, covered by numerous moors, idyllic fens and marsh flats featuring a wide variety of rare plants. And wet it was during our visit !!

One of the four windmills in the neighbourhood of San Miguel, just outside Vejer. The mills were constructed to mill flour. The silhouette of these windmills is one of the symbols of the town and they have been preserved as a part of the history of Vejer.

The mill in Kilsdonk is dating back to the year of 1433, when it was mentioned as a watermill. Originally there were two watermills on the banks of the River Aa. Due to flooding and problems with the drainage process in 1491 was determined that the mills only in winter could be used. A new miller wanted to use the mills during the year and got permission to built a windmill (1813). After a devastating fire, which burned down the mills, the mill complex was reopened in 1842. Flooding persisted and the mill was bought by the municipality of Veghel and the wheels were removed. Water problems solved, but the mill fell into disrepair. Nowadays the Kilsdonkse Molen (Kilsdonk Mill) is owned by a foundation, which was able to perform extensive restoration works in 2003-2008. The combination of a water- and windmill is quiet unique even in the Netherlands with its numerous mills.

Kasteel Heeswijk (Heeswijk Castle) was originally built around 1080 by inhabitants of the valley of the river Aa as a motte, a moated refuge.’Count Almericus van Heeswijk’ ís the first (1156) known castle dweller. In the 13th century the castle becomes the property of the family ‘Van Bentheim’, who enlarged the castle at the end of that century. In subsequent years, the castle had several owners and it was rebuilt and expanded many times. In 1834 Belgian ‘André baron van den Bogaerde van Terbruggen’ bought Heeswijk Castle and of course it was rebuilt again. He and his descendants were art collectors and decorated the castle with all kinds of art and the castle was partly used as a museum; its nickname was ‘Musée de Bogaerde’. The last noble descendant died in 1994 and since that time the castle is owned by The Heeswijk Castle Foundation. Nowadays the castle, gatehouse and coach house are used for cultural activities and/or are housing a café, restaurant and conference rooms. The castle can be visited during a guided tour, while the garden and surrounding park are free of charge.

‘Huis Zwanenburg’ (Manor Zwanenburg) is the only remaining manor of the six medieval fortified houses which once stood in Dinther. It was built in several stages. Around the year of 1400 a so called ‘steenen kaemer’ (stone room) was built on the site of the current manor. Such a stone room was not meant for permanent residence, but served as a shelter for the owner of the estate, when he came to Zwanenburg consulting his tenants and managing the estate. The part of the building with the gabled roof is probably built between 1500 and 1520. In the 17th century the house was extended and at the end of that century radically rebuilt. In 1733 the house was completely dilapidated, but later it was restored. Around1950 a major restoration followed and the manor became its current look. ‘Huis Zwanenburg’ is picturesquely situated in the valley of the river Aa between Dinther and Veghel and is located in the hamlet Beugt.

The oldest parts of ‘Kasteel Croy’ (Croy Castle) most probably are dating back to the middle of the 15th century. In 1477 Jacob van Croy, member of the noble Burgundian family De Croy, bought a ‘slotje’ (= little castle) with a farmhouse. However ‘Van Croy’ was only seventeen years owner of the "slotje", when he sold it to Cornelis I van Bergen, who probably built the castle (PiP 1) and gatehouse (PiP 2) in its final size. Several noble families inhabited the imposing castle; the last one was family was the Van der Brugghen family. The last inhabitant was Freule (Lady) Constance van der Brugghen. She died in 1873 and left the building to the municipality of Stiphout with the obligation to use it for the help of poor elderly people. This came to an end in 1977, when the castle was disapproved for housing (elderly) people. After a fully restoration of the interior (1990), the castle nowadays houses a number of companies. The gatehouse is used as a bed & breakfast.

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).

‘Kasteel Gemert’ (Caslte Gemert) is dating back to the year of 1391. It was inhabited by knights of the German Order and was built by order of Commander Hendrik Reinaart van Husen.. Originally the castle was a defensible fortress. From the 14th to the 20th century it was often renovated and extended. In 1740 the (current) new main building was constructed, consisting of three wings surrounding a courtyard. In 1794, the French took possession of the castle and the German Order was dissolved by order of Napoleon Bonaparte. At the end of the 19th century the castle and grounds were sold to Jesuits. Afterwards it was used as a monastery by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit; they built a chapel on the grounds. Due to a lack of new recruits, the brotherhood finally left the castle a couple of years ago. Nowadays the castle is owned by a private investment company and is waiting for a new future. There were restorations on the main buildings going on during our visit (November 2015). The grounds were closed and I only could make a picture of the drawbridge and the 17th century gatehouse.

Mill Laurentia was moved from the village of Bleskensgraaf, where it was used as drainage mill in the polder Alblasserwaard. In the year of 1893 the mill was rebuilt and started a ‘second life’ as flourmill nearby the village of Milheeze. Laurentia is an octagonal whitewashed ‘beltmolen*’ on a stone foundation with a reed covered superstructure. Originally the mill was called ‘Ludolizawi’, a contraction of the names of of the former owners. After a restoration in 1965 the mill became its current name Laurentia. *beltmolen = belt is a man made mound, providing more wind for a mill.

The ‘Göta kanal’ is a canal in Götaland with a length of 190 kilometers. At its highest point the canal is 91.8 meters above sea level and has 58 locks. Nearby the village of Berg the canal has one flight of seven locks and another two double locks, raising and lowering boats more than 29 meters. The seven connected locks (main picture) are the longest flight of locks on the Göta Canal. They raise or lower boats almost 19 meters between Lake Roxen and harbour at Berg. The locks were built between 1815-1818 and officially named ‘Carl Johans slussar’ (after the Swedish King Karl XIV Johan).

Picture: Göta Canal between Borensberg and Vandrarhem Glasbruket after a rainy day. The ‘Göta kanal’ is a canal in Götaland with a length of 190.5 kilometers. It runs between Mem on the Baltic Sea and Sjötorp on the eastern shore of Lake Vänern. Together with the river ‘Gota älv’ and ‘Trollhätte kanal’ it connects Stockholm with Göteborg. . The canal - built between 1810 and 1832 - was an important link in the transportation of wood and iron. The promoter and building contractor was the Swedish admiral Baltzar von Platen. 87 kilometers of the canal was excavated manually by 58.000 soldiers. ‘Göta Kanal’ has a width which varies from 7 to 14 meters and a maximum depth of about 3 meters. At its highest point the canal is 91.8 meters above sea level and has 58 locks (PiP 1, one of the locks) along the way. Nowadays the waterway is only used by pleasure boats (Pip 2) and vintage canal boats like M/S Juno (PiP 3), launched in 1874 and specially designed to sail in the ‘Göta Kanal’. It is the world’s oldest registered ship with overnight accommodation.

Torre del Tajo is a 16th century watchtower, which was built as part of a coastal defensive system along the Costa da Luz, the most southern part of Andalucía. Watchkeepers could warn for Moorish pirate attacks either by lighting a fire or sending smoke signals to neighbouring towers. This 14 meters high tower is perched on a cliff 100 meters above the Atlantic Ocean. From the terrace of the Torre del Tajo one can enjoy magnificent views of the coast or even the African continent. Torre de Tajo (Tower on the Edge) is located in the ‘Parque Natural de la Breña y Marismas del Barbate’, between Barbate and Caños de Meca. The national park is famous for its numerous umbrella pines.

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