De Vlijt (English: ''The Diligence'') is a

smock mill The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This type ...

Diever Diever is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Westerveld, and lies about 18 km northwest of Hoogeveen. Diever is located near the , a major north–south route for pleasure boats in the province ...

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 ...

. It was built in 1882. The mill 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 ...

, number 12907.

History

A smock mill on this site was burnt down in 1882. A replacement was built by Diever

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

Rietsma, incorporating parts from a drainage mill that formerly stood at Eesterga,

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 ...

. De Vlijt was last used by wind power 1938 and after that was worked by an oil engine. After 1940 the mill became derelict. In 1955, the mill was restored by millwright H J Huberts of

Coevorden Coevorden (; nds-nl, Koevern) is a city and municipality in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. During the 1998 municipal reorganisation in the province, Coevorden merged with Dalen, Sleen, Oosterhesselen and Zweeloo, retaining its name. In Augu ...

. In 1956 the mill restarted commercial operation, and was worked until 1965. Further restoration of the mill was carried out in 1978. (Click on "Geschiedenis" to view) In 1979, the mill was purchased by the local authority in Westerveld.

Description

De Vlijt is what the Dutch describe as an "achtkante stellingmolen", a smock mill with a stage. It has a three-storey base and a two-storey smock. The stage is above ground level. 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 four Common sails have aerodynamic lift creating devices on the leading edge using the Fauël system. They have a span of . The sails are carried on a cast-iron ''windshaft'' which was cast in 1858 by millwright Fyenoord. It carries the ''brake wheel'', which has 48 teeth. This drives the ''wallower'' (27 cogs) at the top of the ''upright shaft''. At the bottom of the ''upright shaft'' the ''great spur wheel'' with 93 cogs drives the lantern pinion ''stone nut'' with 25 staves. This drives the single pair of French Burr millstones. (Click on "Technische gegevens" to view) A second pair of millstones is driven by

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

Public access

De Vlijt is open to the public on Saturdays from 09:00 to 12:00 (January to April and September to December) and from 09:00 to 16:00 (June to August).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlijt, Diever Windmills in Drenthe Smock mills in the Netherlands Windmills completed in 1882 Rijksmonuments in Drenthe Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands

De Vlijt, Diever De Vlijt (English: ''The Diligence'') is a smock mill in Diever, Netherlands. It was built in 1882. The mill is listed as a Rijksmonument, number 12907. History A smock mill on this site was burnt down in 1882. A replacement was built by Diever ...