t Zwaantje ( en, The Little Swan) is a smock mill in

Nijemirdum Nijemirdum ( fry, Nijemardum) is a village in De Fryske Marren municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands, with a population of around 555 as of 2004. There is a windmill in the village: 't Zwaantje, which is a monument. History ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

which was built in 1878. The mill has been restored to working order. It is listed as a

Rijksmonument A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...

History

The mill was probably built in 1878, replacing an earlier mill that had been built c.1790 and had burnt down. Draining the Huitebuurster polder, it was formerly named ''De Huitebuurstermolen'', only being renamed ''t Zwaantje'' in 1987. In 1956, the mill was partly dismantled and a Lister

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

was installed to pump water. The mill was restored in 1986 by Messrs Waghenbrugghe of

Sneek Sneek (; fy, Snits) is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân (Southwest Friesland). Th ...

, Friesland. The restoration incorporated the sails, windshaft, brake wheel and

Archimedes' screw The Archimedes screw, also known as the Archimedean screw, hydrodynamic screw, water screw or Egyptian screw, is one of the earliest hydraulic machines. Using Archimedes screws as water pumps (Archimedes screw pump (ASP) or screw pump) dates back ...

from ''De Noordster'' ( en, The North Star), Nieuwe Bildtdijk, which had been demolished in 1984. It was thought that ''De Noordster'' only dated from 1936, and thus it was not listed as a

. This was an error, as the mill actually dated from 1818; 1936 being the date that the leading edges of the sails were fitted with Dekkerised leading edges. 't Zwaantje was capable of draining or pumping water into the polder. The mill was restored in 1987. 't Zwaantje was sold to

Stichting De Fryske Mole The Stichting De Fryske Mole ( en, Frisian Mills Foundation) is a foundation for the preservation of windmills in the Dutch province Friesland, owning 42 of the 124 windmills in Friesland and closely co-operating with the Gild Fryske Mounders with ...

on 1 January 1996, the 47th mill acquired by that organisation. A further restoration took place in 2007. The mill is listed as a Rijksmonument, No. 358041.

Description

''t Zwaantje'' is what the Dutch describe as a ''Grondzeiler''. It is a two-storey smock mill on a single-storey brick 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, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

ed. The sails are

Common sails Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

. They have a span of . The sails are carried on a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

''windshaft'', which was cast by IJzergieterij H. J. Koning of Foxham, Groningen in 1910. It also carries the ''brake wheel'' which has 48 cogs. This drives the ''wallower'' (31 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 34 cogs, drives an

. The lower ''crown wheel'', which has 33 cogs is carried on the axle of an Archimedes' screw, which is used to drain the polder. The axle of the screw is diameter and long. The screw is diameter. It is inclined at 30°. Each revolution of the screw lifts of water.

Public access

''t Zwaantje'' is open to the public by appointment or whenever it is working.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zwaantje, Nijemirdum Windmills in Friesland Windmills completed in 1878 Smock mills in the Netherlands Windpumps in the Netherlands Agricultural buildings in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Friesland Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands