Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Barger-Compascuum

Veenpark is an open-air museum with an area of 160 hectares, which makes it one of the largest open-air museums in Europe. The museum was founded in 1966 under the name Nationaal Veenpark 't Aole Compas . That year the peat village Barger-Compascuum - adjacent to the museum - celebrated its centenary. On that occasion, some moor cottages were reconstructed and furnished. The first exhibition acted like a magnet and many old tools and equipment were donated to the museum. Thanks to the temporary support of the government, the number of houses could also be increased. The museum offers two ‘villages’: an old colonist settlement 't Aole Compas with sod houses from around 1870 and the newer settlement Bargermond , where the period from 1920 to 1966 is shown. This village includes a church, cafe, school, windmill , bakery and a forge. Every day, the grocer, the peat cutter, the baker and the clog maker are at work here. Further on the museum offers a permanent exposition and an open-air area with peat fields, which shows the history of peat extraction in different time periods.

Windmill De Berk (The Berch) originally came from Drantum in Germany. The windmill was built in 1870 as a successor of a windmill that had been built in the middle of the 19th century, but had burnt down. In 1952, this mill was put out of action and fell into disrepair. Miller Bökkers from the (Dutch) town of Olst bought the mill with the intention of rebuilding it. His plans were not realised and in 1983, De Berk was rebuilt in the Veenpark - an open-air museum in Barger-Compascuum, Drenthe. Here, the windmill operated regularly, grinding grain as well. De Berk is an octagonal smock mill on a two storey brick base. It has a stage at first floor level (3.2 metres above ground level). The smock and cap are thatched. The flourmill was doing well until 2009, but then it was obvious that the mill could only be used to a very limited extent, only when the wind came from the right angle. This became less and less and slowly the mill stopped functioning and its overall condition continued to deteriorate. During my visit, I indeed noticed how ill-maintained De Berk is. To be honest one the worst maintained windmills in the Netherlands that I have ever seen. It is feared that the mill is beyond saving.