Water & Wicks

GRINDER FOR DRY FEET
In the past, behind the Voorne dune area there was a Wadden area with islands, creeks and channels. When the water was high, the islands flooded and a layer of clay remained. Pieces of land that ultimately remained dry at high tide were reclaimed. In the lowest polders there was a polder mill to drain the excess water. This is how Voorne took its shape over a few centuries, with the windmills in the landscape as a reminder.
STAND, SHELVES AND CORRELS
In 1697 there was a wooden standard mill on the site where the dry dock is now. This mill had to make way for the Dry Dock at the end of the 18th century. The stone mill 'De Hoop' was built in 1801. The flour wagons could drive downstairs while they were working, to be loaded or unloaded. This passage was restored to its former glory during the restoration of 1962-1961.
GROUND SAILOR WITH SEA VIEW
The Zeezicht windmill near Nieuwenhoorn dates from 1718. It is a round stone ground sailor. Its predecessor on the same site was a wooden post mill that was blown down in 1717. The flour mill operated with three pairs of millstones until 1966. Since the restorations in the nineties, the mill is operational again. When the mill is running, it is open to the public.
NO MORE GRAIN BUT ELECTRICITY
All historic mills are traditional mills with four sails. But Voorne-Putten also has modern tall wind turbines with three enormous blades that, with the help of the ever-present wind, provide sustainable energy supply to homes and companies in the industrial area. There is no miller involved here, everything is computer controlled. Cycling past the windmills on Voorne Putten is cycling through the past, present and future.
MILL'T FLYING DEER, BRIELLE
The mill is a standard mill built in 1985. It stands as a rampart mill on the city's rampart, on the spot where a corn mill has stood since the seventeenth century. The mill burned down in 1810 and was rebuilt in 1811. This also burned out in 1882. After this, the mill was demolished. In 1970, during a restoration of the fortress, the dies of the old standard mill were found. It was decided to build a replica of this mill.
GROUNDSAILER ON ELEVATION
The Oostvoorne flour mill was built in 1821. It is a round stone ground sailor on a natural elevation. The unnamed mill with two pairs of stones milled by wind until 1950. After that, milling was carried out exclusively by electricity. The mill was restored in 1964, but in 2003 a major restoration had to be carried out to make the mill suitable for grinding again.
GRILL MILL ROCKANJE
The oldest mill in Voorne-Putten stands, like a work of art between two sides of the road, in Rockanje. After six post mills on the same site, the oldest of which was built in 1388, this was the first stone mill. This could not be blown over, a fate that had befallen all post mills on the dike. The mill was restored in 2008 and has been running again since 2009. View all cycling routes at www.opvoorneputten.nl