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

Windmill De Prins van Oranje (The Prince of Orange) is named after prins Willem van Oranje - Father of the Nation - who married Anna van Buren. The Counts of Buren were the owners of this mill from 1716 to 1795. The current tower mill had at least two predecessora on the city walls of Buren; the first of which was destroyed by fire in 1575. A new mill was built in 1577, which was replaced by the current stone mill in 1716 due to its dilapidatedness. In 1911 these mill also burned down ans was rebuilt and heightened. In 1974, the five-storey tower mill was fully restored, with new internal machinery. It has a stage, which is almost nine meters above ground level. De Prins van Oranje is still working as a flour mill and is listed as a Dutch national heritage site.

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 and is the only mill in the Netherlands on top of a city gate. The ‘Rijn en Lek’ 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 river Rhine changes it name into Lek River downstream from Wijk bij Duurstede.

Windlust is a octagonal smock mill, which was built in 1860 and raised in 1880. Fourty years later a brick engine-house was added to the base of the mill. In the 1930s the mill worked mostly by engine, but by wind during World War !!. After the war the condition of the mill deteriorated and it ceased working in 1953. Around 1960 it was restored and some years later left to the foundation De Oosthoek . Windlust is a so called stellingmolen ; the stage is 6.20 meters above the ground. The mill has a brick base and the smock and cap are thatched. Nowadays Windlust - a flour mill - is still in working order and is kept running by volunteers. The mill - listed as a Dutch national monument - can be visited on most Saturdays.

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.

The Molen van Rolde is a grist and barley mill. The mill was built in 1873 and replaced a ill on this site, which burnt down a year earlier. The mill has no formal name, taking its name from the town of Rolde. The mill passed through a number of owners and came into the ownership of the Schuiling family in 1892. In 1968 the mill was sold to the municipality of Rolde. The Molen van Rolde - situated on a little man made hill - is a three-storey smock mill on a single-storey brick base. There is no stage, the sails reaching down almost to ground level. The smock and cap are thatched. The mill is winded by a tailpole and winch. The four sails - with a span of 19.10 metres - are carried in a cast-iron windshaft. Over the years the windmill has been restored several times. The mill is still working and has a volunteer miller. The Molen van Rolde is a so called Rijksmonument , a Dutch national heritage site.

Relatively few of the 1.170 remaining windmills in the Netherlands were ever used to grind flour; instead, most worked as irrigation systems throughout the low-lying country. Even today many still function as backups for more modern Dutch water management systems. Windmill Kijkduin - located in the village of Schoorl - is one of the country’s oldest working grain refinement mills. The windmill is a round stone ground sailer and was originally constructed in 1772. Even before 1575, there was a windmill on this site, which was set on fire by retreating Spanish soldiers in that year. It was not until 20 years later that a new mill - presumably a post mill - was built, which was demolished in 1771 and replaced by the current mill. The mill was in regular use until 1935. After the Second World War, several restorations were carried out, and since 1973 the mill has been grinding again. Windmill Kijkduin is nowadays open to the public on Saturdays and grinding takes place when there is sufficient wind. The mill has a shop where various types of flour are sold to the catering industry, residents of Schoorl and tourists.

Count Reinier Vincent van Hompesch owned from the year 1719 the heerlijkheid (the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas in the Netherlands) Stevensweert. He wanted his own banmolen (mill soke), in which the inhabitants of the villages Stevensweert and Ohé were obliged to grind their grains, so that the count could claim a part of the revenues. The mill was built between 1721 and 1722. The Hompesche Molen is a so called stellingmolen (tower stage). From this stage (or platform) the miller could bring the sails in the right position. The mill has eight floors (called attics), including the basement, which was also used as a prison. The building is made entirely of brick and is round in shape. With a height of 37 meters it is the tallest flour mill in the province of Limburg. During the Second World War, the mill was badly damaged and could not loger used. Between 1948 and 1949 it was restored, but the mill fell into disuse again and was in a worse condition, which led to another renovation between 1975 and 1977. After that, wheat and barley were milled for years by a voluntary miller for use as cattle feed. Between 2005 and 2013 there has been a visitor centre in the outbuildings and miller's house. From 2009 a brasserie has been housed in the miller's house adjacent to the mill. In 2014 the mill became the property of the Vereniging Natuurmonumenten (a Dutch Society for Nature Conservation). In 2015 the mill was restored and made accessible to the public.

The Wijhese Molen has been constructed early 18th century. There are several inscriptions in various beams in the mill: the oldest one found reads: "GVB 1705". This makes the mill the oldest octagonal mill in the Dutch province of Overijssel. However the mill was probably not newly built, but relocated from a polder mill in Noord-Holland, which was demolished in those days. In the course of the centuries the mill had several millers till it was handed over in 1977 to a foundation Stichting De Wijhese Molen . Commissioned by this foundation, the mill was restored in 1979. It has always had the function of a corn mill: grinding grain for farmers and bakers. Nowadays the Wijhese Molen is still equipped for this purpose with one pair of grinding stones (there used to be two in the past). The ground floor of the mill houses a brasserie and art gallery.

The windmill has a history going back to 1369, when there already was a mill in the hamlet Karrichoven (nowadays Kerkhoven, a neighbourhood of Oisterwijk). The current mill was built in 1895 after the wooden post mill was completely destroyed by fire. But in 1910 another fire destroyed the interior of the mill, but was repaired with parts of a polder mill in Rhoon (near Rotterdam). The Kerkhovense Molen was used for grinding grain and tree bark (used by the local tanneries in Oisterwijk) until after the World War II. After that it was used as a café and youthhostel. Between 1976 and 1979 the mill was completed renovated and after thirty years it could grind again on wind power. In the meantime the mill is owned by a foundation ( Stichting De Kerkhovense Molen ), which renovated the mill again. In 1999 it was officially reopened and the mill is still used for grinding grain. The mill got also its original name Onvermoeid (Untiring), but the name Kerkhovense Molen is much more common. On the ground floor the mill has a cute tea/coffee room and a shop, selling flour and other local products.

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.

Windmill De Maagd (the Virgin) is a smock mill, which was built in 1894. The flour mill is located on the outskirts of the Dutch village and surrounded by wheat fields. After a first restoration in 1960 it fell back into disrepair. After a second restoration - 1988 - the mill is in working order again. De Maagd has two flocks of millstones that are used to grind grain on a professional basis. One pair is driven by wind and the other has an alectric engine. The mill is quite unique as it used on a daily base. The flour of the mill is delivered to bakers and (pancake) restaurants, but also to other mill shops, hotels and hospitals.

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.

De Zaandplatte is a windmill in a hamlet called Engeland , just outside the village of Ruinen and nearby National Park Dwingelderveld . Its name is derived from its current location, a former piece of ferocious land with the name De Zaandplatte . It is a thatched, octagonal wooden ‘belt mill’ ( belt is a man made elevation) dating from 1964. Although originally the mill - dating back to the end of the 18th century - stood in the village of Echten and was in a bad state of dilapidation. It was demolished in 1962 and rebuilt and put back in operation about 9 km’s away on its current location. In the past Ruinen had thirteen windmills, De Zaandplatte is the only remaining one. Initially the rebuilt mill was used as a holiday home. After the restoration at the end of the 20th century the ownership of the mill was transferred by the municipality to a foundation Vrienden van de Ruiner Molen . Since then the mill is grinding again and is running on a voluntary basis. In 2007 De Zaandplatte was chosen as the most beautiful mill of the province of Drenthe. Although with limited hours, the mill is open for visitors.

Windmill ‘De Koe’ (The Cow) is a grain mill in Veere, where it is located on one of the earth walls of the fortress just outside the city. It is a round brick mill, dating back to the year 1909. ‘De Koe’ is built on the location of an older mill from 1736, which was burnt down. Documents mention a mill named ‘De Coe’ already in 1599, so the current mill is most probably the third with this name. During that time there was also a mill named ‘De Stier’(The Bull). The mill has a reefing stage (‘stelling’) and the cap is covered with zinc. The upper part is white painted, which is a tradition in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It has a flight of 23.50 meters. The mill is no longer used as the ground floor houses nowadays a holiday home.

The ‘Molen van Frans’ (Mill of Frans) was built in 1711 as a paper mill by Bernardus Kremer. In 1870 the mill was sold to the family ‘Frans’ and it became its current name. The new owners turned the mill into a flour mill. To increase the efficiency the undershot mill was transformed into an overshot mill and a mill pond was constructed. Since 1963 the mill is owned by ‘Landschap Overijssel’, a foundation for conservation of the nature in the province of Overijssel. They ordered several restorations; the last took place in 1999. Nowadays the mill can still be used for grinding grain. But one can also visit the mill for information (although it has limited opening hours) about the mill and the flora and fauna in the surrounding countryside of the valley of the Mosbeek. It even has a small ‘eco shop’, selling their own flour and seed of wild flowers.

The ‘Wieker Meule’ (Mill of De Wijk) is an octagonal three storey smock mill on a two-storey wooden base. The stage is almost nine metres above ground level; the four sails do have a span of 22,50 metres. The mill was built in 1829 with elements coming from a mill in nearby Staphorst, dating back to the year of 1764. In an addition to the two pairs of pairs of stones driven by the wind, an extension was built against the base of the mill which housed two pairs of millstones driven by a diesel/electric engine. In 1926, the mill was bought by an agricultural bank and the ground floor was used as a bank office. Till the year of 1962 the Wieker Meule was used commercially. The mill fell into disrepair and in 1980 it was completely renovated. Since then the mill is often used for grinding corn, nowadays owned by a local society with volunteers.

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 ‘Lindesche Molen’ (also called ‘Molen Ons Belang’) is an octagonal ‘belt mill’. The ‘belt (= a man made hill) for this mill has a height of 4.20 metres. These ‘belts’ were made in order to provide more wind for the mill. The present mill was built in 1890 on the site of an even older mill (1856), which burned down. The mill wasn’t used for many many years. In the year of 1971 it was restored and the sails could turn again. Twenty years later mill stones were placed and the mill was ready for grinding flour again. The ‘Lindesche Molen’ is situated in the hamlet Linde, nearby the town of Vorden and along the ‘Achtkastelen route’ (Eight Castles route); a bike route along eight castles/mansions.