De Landschappen van Historische Nederlandse Windmolens: The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills by Keenan Porter

De Landschappen van Historische Nederlandse Windmolens The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

Keenan Porter

De Landschappen van Historische Nederlandse Windmolens The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

Keenan Porter

Preface This field study was completed as part of the degree requirements for The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program. It was undertaken with the goal of understanding how historic Dutch windmills fit into their surrounding landscapes.

Polder mills in Kinderdijk

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

Background The first Dutch windmills date back to the 11th century1. Early mills were built to mill grain or for polder drainage, where the mills pumped water out of lower-elevation areas so they could be farmed or grazed2. Since then, mills have been designed for cutting lumber, producing electricity, and other uses. Even after hundreds of years of existence, there are still numerous mills in operation and serving their original purposes. Others - such as many polder mills have become inactive as modern technology has replaced them, but have been protected to preserve their historical and cultural value. Many mills, both active and inactive, serve as museums, allowing people to learn more about their histories and interact with them up-close. Some have been retrofitted with new uses, such as restaurants and entertainment venues. Others are simply maintained on both public and private land, silently standing as reminders of the past within their modern landscapes. There were once more than ten thousand mills throughout the Netherlands, but today there are just over one thousand-two hundred still standing3. In Rotterdam alone, there were historically more than one hundred mills and now fewer than ten remain. While this is a substantial loss, it makes those that have survived to the present even more significant.

De Hoop: Gallery mill located in Middelburg 3

Buitenweg Molen: Hollow post polder mill located in Utrecht

De Adriaan: Gallery mill located in Haarlem

Types of Windmills There are several types of windmills in the Netherlands, with two occurring in Rotterdam.

Grondzeilers (Ground Sailors):

Stellingmolens (Gallery Mills):

Most polder mills are ground sailors. They have blades that reach nearly to their base and can be rotated, or “sailed,” by the miller from the ground. Each of the ground sailors found in Rotterdam have six to eight side and utilize thatching for their roofs and sides. They are more common in wide open spaces, and require fencing around them to protect livestock and people from the rotating blades.

Gallery mills have scaffolding, or a “gallery,” circling them from which the miller rotates the blades. Heights of gallery mills vary, but are generally taller than ground sailors. They are usually located in more built-up areas, and have a large area underneath the gallery that allows for pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Their cylindrical bodies are usually made of stone, and are most commonly used for milling grain.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

Project Information Windmills are a cultural icon of the Netherlands, however, many no longer serve their historic purposes. As technology has advanced, many mills have become obsolete for milling grain, pumping water, and their other uses on a large scale. Concurrently, land uses and levels of development have shifted, which has resulted in many surviving mills to becoming divorced from their original context. While the landscapes around them shifted with the times, the mills that remain to the present have been kept in their historic states. With this in mind, this study seeks to understand how these quintessential pieces of Dutch history fit in with their modern surroundings.

De Distilleerketel (1919)4

De Distilleerketel (2019)

Fading in Context Mills are frequently viewed and photographed as isolated objects removed from their context. Like paintings in a museum, they could be anywhere and could be situated next to just about anything. This study represents the landscapes of Rotterdam’s historic windmills with series of three photos: the middle photo has the mill centered within it, while the two outer photos show an extended view of its surroundings. Photos are taken from varying distances and directions, showing the mills not only from their picture-worthy angles, but how they actually can be seen throughout their sites.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

Field Sketches

Map of Mill Locations

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

De Prinsenmolen The Prince Mill Built: 1648 Rebuilt/Restored: N/A Type: Ground sailor Function: Polder drainage Location: Prinsenmolenpad 72, 3054 XM, Rotterdam Surrounding Landscapes: Park, Residential, Canal, Lake The Prince Mill is the oldest remaining windmill in Rotterdam. It is located on a thin strip of land in-between the Rotte and the Bergse Plassen lake. The strip is a public park named after the mill - Prinsemolenpark. While the land around it is open to the public, the mill itself is private property and is not free to access. It no longer functions as a polder mill. It is moderately accessible by foot and bicycle, but cars are not able to drive through the park. The mill is highly visible from a distance on the opposite side of the canal as well as close-up within the park.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

De Valk The Falcon Built: 1772 Rebuilt/Restored: N/A Type: Ground sailor Function: Polder drainage Location: Molenweg 109, 2651 AC, Berkel en Rodenrijs Surrounding Landscapes: Residentail, Agricultural, Pastureland, Canals The Falcon is located just north of Rotterdam, situated in the countryside. It is on residential property, and closed to the public. It is no longer used for polder drainage, with modern electric pumps taking over in recent decades. While it cannot be viewed from inside, it is easily seen from the street. It is the tallest structure in the area, and has high visibility throughout the surrounding landscape. It is only moderately accessible, being a significant distance away from downtown Rotterdam. It would be difficult to reach on foot, but is accessible by both bicycle and car.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

Pendrechtse Molen Pendrecht Mill Built: 1731 Rebuilt/Restored: 1993 Type: Ground sailor Function: Polder drainage Location: Charlois Lagedijk 364, 2993 AG, Barendrecht Surrounding Landscapes: Park, Pond, Canals, Highway, Train tracks, Sports fields The Pendrecht Mill is located at the south edge of Rotterdam within a public park, Zuiderlijk Randpark. While no longer used for polder drainage, it is still open certain days of the week and occasionally turns. It is highly accessible by means of foot, bicycle, and car, but is blocked by a locked gate on days it is not open to the public. It is highly visible throughout the park, accross the water and up close.The nearby A15 highway and train tracks are not visible from most areas of the park, but are audible. The mill is situated within meadow habitat, unlike the others that have either pavement or turf grass around them.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

De Ster en De Lelie The Star and The Lily Built: 1968 / 1840 Rebuilt/Restored: N/A / 1970 Type: Gallery mill Function: Sniff mill Location: Plaszoom 356 / 324, 3062 CL, Rotterdam Surrounding Landscapes: Park, Restaurant, Lake Historically common, the Star and the Lily are the only remaining examples of more than one mill located in the same area in Rotterdam. The mills are open certain days of the month and occasionally turn, but are no longer used for their original purpose. They are located within the Kralingse Bos, a forest in the northwestern part of the city. They are highly accessible by car, bicycle, and foot and are easily viewed up close. However, they have low visibility otherwise, being blocked by trees only a few hundred feet away. They are visible from across the lake, but are very small and overshadowed by the Rotterdam skyline and larger modern windmills.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

De Vier Winden The Four Winds Built: 1776 Rebuilt/Restored: N/A Type: Gallery mill Function: Grain mill Location: Terbregse Rechter Rottekade 91, 3055 XC, Terbregge Surrounding Landscapes: Residential, Canal, Park The Four Winds is located along the Rotte, near the Prince Mill. It is surrounded by residential homes, as well as a small park to the north. The mill is smaller than most of the other mills in Rotterdam, and is blocked by buildings up to a few hundred feet away. It is highly visible on the opposite side of the Rotte. It is open certain days of the week selling baked goods. It is highly accessible by car, bicycle, and foot.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

De Speelman The Playman Built: 1712 Rebuilt/Restored: 1871, 1941, 1971 Type: Gallery mill Function: Grain mill Location: Overschie Kleiweg 775, 3045 LN, Rotterdam Surrounding Landscapes: Park, Residential, Canal The Playman is open for public visits several days of the week and still actively mills grain when the wind is strong enough to turn its blades. It is located at the southern end of Park Zestienhoven on the border of a residential neighborhood. The area is quiet, mostly secluded from the noise of downtown Rotterdam. It has low vehicle traffic, mostly restricted to residents. The mill has low visibility overall, being easily blocked from a distance by nearby homes and vegetation. Up close it is more visible, but large trees nearby obscure it from certain vantage points. It has a high level of accessibility, being easily reached by car, bicycle, or on foot.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

De Zandweg The Dirt Road Built: 1723 Rebuilt/Restored: N/A Type: Gallery mill Function: Grain mill Location: Kromme Zandweg 99, 3082 PZ, Rotterdam Surrounding Landscapes: Park, Pond, Residential The Dirt Road is located just outside Zuiderpark Rotterdam in the Charlois neighborhood. It still occasionally turns and is open to the public certain days of the week. The mill is highly accessible by car, bicycle, foot, and also has a tram stop nearby. It is highly visible as one of the few built structures in the area, the others being one-story residential homes. Willows along the road are coppiced to keep them low, leaving the gallery and above visible from the park. On clear days, the pond offers a beautiful reflection of the mill.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

De Distilleerketel The Distilling Kettle Built: 1727 Rebuilt/Restored: 1899, 1986, 2004 Type: Gallery mill Function: Grain mill Location: Voorhaven 210, 3024 RR, Rotterdam Surrounding Landscapes: Retail, Residential, Canal, Playground, Docks The original Distilling Kettle was built in 1727, and burnt down twice over its lifetime. The current mill is a nearly exact replica of the original, built immediately adjacent where the original stood. It is located in the historic Delfshaven neighborhood, and was once one of several mills in the area that have all since been removed. It is highly accessible by foot and bicycle, and even by boat. It is highly visible up close and from afar, its blades towering over the surrounding buildings. The Distilling Kettle still actively mills grain, and is open on certain days of the week.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

Nolet Molen Nolet Mill Built: 2005 Rebuilt/Restored: N/A Type: Gallery mill Function: Electric power generator Location: Hoofdstraat 6, 3114 GG, Schiedam Surrounding Landscapes: Residential, Retail, Canal, Manufacturing, Industrial Located immediately to the west of Rotterdam in the city of Schiedam, the Nolet Mill is not a true historic windmill. Built in 2005, it is designed to look like a traditional gallery mill but its features are purely decorative. The gallery and tail are what allow other mills to be rotated, but the Nolet Mill utilizes an interior motor to turn itself. It is the only mill in the study that is used for electricity generation, providing power to the Nolet Distillery. It is nine meters taller than the tallest windmill in the world, De Noord, which is also located in Schiedam.

The Landscapes of Historic Dutch Windmills

Bibliography 1. “The Origin of the Dutch Windmills.” Tours-Tickets.com, 15 Aug. 2017, www.tours-tickets.com/en/blog/ the-origin-of-the-dutch-windmills/. 2. “Functions of Windmills in Holland.” The Purpose of Windmills in the Netherlands - Holland.com, 16 Aug. 2019, www.holland.com/global/tourism/discover-holland/traditional/functions-of windmills-in-holland.htm. 3. “Database Van Verdwenen Molens in Nederland.” Database Van Verdwenen Molens in Nederland, www.molendatabase.org/. 4. “Delfshaven Met Molens De Distilleerketel (L) En De Waakzaamheid.” Flickr.com, Alwin Nöller, Delfshaven, Netherlands, 4 June 2018, https://www.flickr.com/photos/almar38/42559568141.