The Scherpenberg mill, located in

Westmalle Westmalle is a village in the Belgian province of Antwerp which is part of the municipality of Malle. History See history of Malle. Tourism Westmalle is primarily known for the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle of the Order of Cistercians of the Stric ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, is a

tower mill A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.Medieval science, technology, and medicine: an encyclopedia (2005), 520 Thi ...

that was built in 1843 to grind grain into flour. It is currently owned and operated by the municipal authorities of

Malle Malle () is a municipality located in the Campine region of the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the villages of Oostmalle and Westmalle. In 2021, Malle had a total population of 15,620. The total area is 51.99 km2. H ...

, the only hours of operation being Sunday from 1:30 P.M. until 5:00 P.M.

History

The mill was built in 1843 by Joannes and Petrus Mullenbrück (alternately found as Meulenbroeck). The Mullenbrücks were the sons of Christianus Mullenbrück, who had come from

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

in 1808. Joannes became a miller in Westmalle, and his brother Petrus moved to

Ossendrecht Ossendrecht is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Woensdrecht, about 12 km southeast of Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the local dialect) is a municipality and a ...

in the

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 ...

where he also worked as a miller. The mill was in use until 1961, when it became obsolete. The municipality of Westmalle subsequently purchased the mill in 1962, when Jozef Caers began the first restoration work. After several years or restoration, the mill again became operational in 1985. In 2003, major maintenance work was carried out.

Owners and millers

The owners of the mill are as follows: *Christianus Mullenbrück-Aerts (1843–1853) *Joannes Mullenbrück-Nicolay (1853–1881) *Franciscus Stevens-Mullenbrück (1881–1891) *Franciscus Janssens-Geerts (1891–1930) *Gustaaf Janssens-Van de Mierop, and his widow (1930–1954) *Magdalena and Laura Huyskens-Janssens (1956–1962) *Municipal authorities of Westmalle (1962–1977) *Municipal authorities of Malle (as of 1977) The millers are as follows, please note that some owners also acted as miller: *Joannes Mullenbrück-Nicolay (1843–1881) *Franciscus Stevens-Mullenbrück (1881–1891) *Jan Verschueren (1891–1927) *Frans Boekx (1927–1954) *Jozef Boekx (1954–1962) *Municipal authorities of Westmalle (1962–1977) *Municipal authorities of Malle (as of 1977)

History

Owners and millers

See also