Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: grondzeiler

Although the name De Oude Knegt (The Old Servant) suggests otherwise, the current windmill is relatively young and dates just from the year 2004. However, its history goes back for centuries. As early as 1333 documents speak of a corn mill in the village of Akersloot. It is almost certain that the very first post mill was burned down by the Spaniards during the siege of Alkmaar (1573). In 1580, the village council of Akersloot decided to rebuild a corn mill, which would be owned by the village community. This mill was probably in operation until 1817, when De Oude Knegt is mentioned.In that year the mill was replaced by an octagonal mill, which was moved from elsewhere. This mill remained in operation for more than hundred years. In 1925 the mill was disassembled and partly demolished. A local initiative ensured that the mill was rebuilt on a new spot in 1981. For many years the mill supplied flour to private customers and to a number of bakers in the area. But at the turn of the year 2000 - 2001 the mill burned down completely. Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, the mill could be rebuilt. In 2004 the project was completed and De Oude Knegt was festively put into operation as a corn mill. De Oude Knegt is open to visitors (Wednesdays and Saturdays) and flour products are sold in the miller's house.

Wenum is more of a hamlet, coming into being on a east-west ridge of sand. The landscape around Wenum is characterized by streams, fields and meadows close to each other. This small scale landscape changes gradually eastwards into an open agricultural landscape. Characteristic is the Wenumse Enk ('upland field’), a large spherical open field on the sand ridge. Landmark of this Enk is the windmill ‘Oranjemolen’, also called ‘t Haasje’ (PiP).

Windmill Het Noorden is an octagonal smock mill, which was built in 1878. The mill was used to drain the polder of the same name, in the northeastern part of the island of Texel. Later the need arose for a more powerful drainage system and a pumping station running on oil was added. The windmill became more and more out of operation and was shut down in 1923. The mill was repaired in 1928, but was definitively decommissioned in the 1960s for the drainage of the polder. In September 2017 the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten (Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands) became the owner of the windmill, after which a thorough restoration took place. Windmill Het Noorden - an iconic building on the edge of the polder - is currently once again in use by volunteers.

Windmill Oranjemolen ('t Haasje) in Wenum (north of Apeldoorn), after the restoration.