The smock mill at the

Netherlands Open Air Museum The Netherlands Open Air Museum () is a national open-air museum located in Arnhem. It focuses on the culture associated with the everyday lives of ordinary people, and demonstrating the old way of life in the Netherlands. The park was establishe ...

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

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was originally built at

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, Netherlands in 1862. It was dismantled in 1953 and re-erected at the museum in 1960. The mill has been restored to working order.

History

The mill was originally built to drain the Oosterpolder at

in 1862, replacing an earlier mill. In 1895, the upper part of the wooden upright shaft was replaced by one of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

, made by the IJzergieterij De Prins van Oranje,

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

. At that time, one pair of

Common sails Windmills are powered by their sails. Sails are found in different forms, from primitive common sails to the advanced patent sails. Jib sails The jib sail is found in Mediterranean countries and consists of a simple triangle of cloth wound r ...

were replaced by Patent sails. Later, the mill ran with four Patent sails. In 1913, a steam-powered pumping station was constructed to assist the drainage of the polder during periods of calm. Electricity replaced steam in 1939. In 1942, it was proposed to demolish the mill, but this was postponed due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Post-war, the polder board and the Gemeente Haren disagreed over the proposal to demolish the mill. A licence to demolish was issued on 17 January 1951. The mill was dismantled in 1953 and moved to Arnhem. The mill was rebuilt in 1960, incorporating the base of a demolished windmill from Spijkerboor. The Patent sails were replaced with Common sails, but the mill was not returned to working order. This did not occur until 1995 when the mill was restored. The sails were fitted with the Fok system on their leading edges.

Description

The mill is what the Dutch describe as a ''Grondzeiler''. It is a two-storey smock mill on a single-storey base. There is no stage, the sails reaching almost to ground level. The mill is winded by tailpole and winch. The smock and cap are

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...

ed. The sails are

, fitted with the Fok system on their leading edges. They have a span of . The sails are carried on a cast-iron ''windshaft'' which was cast by the IJzergieterij De Prins van Oranje,

in 1960. The ''windshaft'' carries the wooden ''brake wheel'' which has 48 cogs. This drives the ''wallower'' (29 cogs) at the top of the ''upright shaft''. At the bottom of the ''upright shaft'' there are two ''crown wheels''. The upper ''crown wheel'', which has 40 cogs drives an

Archimedes' screw The Archimedes' screw, also known as the Archimedean screw, hydrodynamic screw, water screw or Egyptian screw, is one of the earliest documented hydraulic machines. It was so-named after the Greek mathematician Archimedes who first described it ...

via a ''crown wheel''. The lower ''crown wheel'', which has 35 cogs is carried on the axle of the Archimedes' screw.

Public access

The mill is open during museum opening hours.

References

External links

Openluchtmuseum webpage about the mill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnhem smock mill Windmills in Gelderland Windmills completed in 1960 Smock mills in the Netherlands Windpumps in the Netherlands Agricultural buildings in the Netherlands Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands Buildings and structures in Arnhem 19th-century architecture in the Netherlands

History

Description

Public access

See also

References

External links