Hoorn, Wognum and Midwoud

Hoorn has a lot to offer for every cyclist. Old elements from the city's history flow into modern buildings and outside the built-up area you are overwhelmed by a splendor of color that is unprecedented. In spring and summer, the many bulb fields are in bloom here and cheerful colors - white, purple, red, yellow, orange, purple and pink - determine the landscape. Another nice place you visit is Wognum. Archaeological finds show that Wognum originated around 900, but hand axes and arrowheads from the Bronze Age have also been found in the area. The village itself is located on the bank of an old stream channel and there are still some old peat streams nearby. Due to its location on the water, it is not surprising that residents of Wognum used to live mainly from fishing. In the seventeenth century, when Hoorn started to grow rapidly, Wognum benefited from this: shipping was also beneficial to the prosperity of the village. The fishing culture declined, but gave room for the agricultural sector to grow. There are thousands of fruit trees near Wognum and you will see a special mix of old agricultural buildings and more modern buildings. Then you leave for the Groote Molen. This polder mill was built in 1603 as an octagonal ground sailor. The mill was last completely restored in 1979 and is equipped with a Flemish vang. The mill now runs on a voluntary basis. The next sight on the route is the Kerkepolder mill. This seesaw mill, built in 1866, drained the seventeen-hectare Kerkepolder. It served faithfully until it was decommissioned in 1948 because it became redundant. From now on, the excess water was drained to the neighboring Leekerlanden via a culvert under the Zomerdijk. Nevertheless, the Kerkepolder mill has subsequently been restored several times and made ready for milling. The old mortar that used to be in the mill and has been replaced by a new one is now on display in front of it. You then cycle to the last mill on the route, the Stofmolen. The mill is a replacement for a small ground sailer that previously stood in the same spot. The current mill was built in 1911 and is therefore still very young by Dutch mill standards. The mill was last restored in 2005 and now runs on a voluntary basis.