tjasker The tjasker (West Frisian: , German: ) is a small type of windmill used solely for drainage purposes. It is distinctive for its simple construction, featuring only a single inclined shaft that carries the sails on one end and an Archimedes' screw o ...

is a type of small drainage

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

used 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 ...

. There are thirteen tjaskers remaining in

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 ...

Locations

Allingawier

;Bij de Izeren Kou
The paaltjasker was built in 1970 in

Allingawier Allingawier is a small village in Súdwest-Fryslân municipality in the Dutch province of Friesland. It is about 7 km southwest of the city of Bolsward. Allingawier is a ''terp'' village, on an artificial dwelling mound. It had a population o ...

and is part of the ''Aldfaers Erf Route'', a route along museums in Allingawier,

Exmorra Exmorra ( fry, Eksmoarre) is a village in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 470 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in 855 as Aspanmora. The etymology is unclear. E ...

and

Piaam Piaam is a small village in the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 50 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Pyangum and means "se ...

. The tjasker has four

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 ...

, which have a span of and can pump water in a circuit. The tjasker is owned by ''Stichting Aldfears Erf'' and can be visited when the museum is open. The name is derived from the nearby farmhouse, also part of the museum, called ''De izeren kou'' ( en, The iron cow).

Augustinusga

The boktjasker was at first located near

Blessum Blessum is a small village in Waadhoeke municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 89 in January 2017. Before 2018, the village was part of the Menameradiel municipality. History The village was f ...

where it drained a meadow. It was replaced by a metal

windpump A windpump is a type of windmill which is used for pumping water. Windpumps were used to pump water since at least the 9th century in what is now Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. The use of wind pumps became widespread across the Muslim world an ...

in 1954 and donated to the ''Friese Maatschappij voor de Landbouw'' Frisian Cooperation for Agriculture who restored it and erected it near

Ryptsjerk Ryptsjerk ( nl, Rijperkerk) is a village in Tytsjerksteradiel municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 767 in January 2017. There is a restored windmill A windmill is a structure that converts ...

though without making it functional. It was moved again in 1972 and now drains some plots of meadow north of Augustinusga. After 1972 it was also restored in 1988 and 2012. It is one of only three remaining ''boktjaskers''. The

have a span of . The tjasker is owned by municipally

Achtkarspelen Achtkarspelen () is a municipality in Friesland in the northern Netherlands. History The name ''Achtkarspelen'', literally meaning "eight parishes", is derived from the original eight parishes within the ''grietenij'', namely: Augustinusga, Buite ...

and can be easily reached on foot from the public road.

Bolsward

This paaltjasker was built in 1976 near a nursing home in

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on thr ...

by the cousins Smid of Giethoorn who took over the assignment from well known tjasker builder R. W. Dijksma after his death. Though restored in 1988 it has since fallen into disrepair and is not in working order. The

have a span of . Municipally Súdwest Fryslân is the owner.

De Hoeve

The paaltjasker was built in 1975 by the cousins Smit from

Giethoorn Giethoorn () is a village in the province of Overijssel, Netherlands with a population of 2,795 in 2020. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland, about 5 km southwest of Steenwijk. As a popular Dutch tourist destination both with ...

taking over the assignment from Dijksma after his death. It was located east 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 ...

. It was dismantled and put into storage in 1980 after it was damaged in a storm. The mill was restored and erected in a nature reserve of

Staatsbosbeheer Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves. Staatsbosbeheer currently oversees over 250,000 hectares of land in the Netherlands. Usually this land is open to the public ...

near

De Hoeve De Hoeve is a village in the Dutch municipality of Weststellingwerf in Friesland. It is located in an agriculture area between Wolvega and Noordwolde. De Hoeve has approximately 410 inhabitants (2017).Linde and a recreational bicycle path.

Elsloo/Tronde

;Vesuvius (Stobbepoel)
The paaltjasker was built around the end of the 19th century. It was rediscovered by association Vesuvius from Elsloo and restored to working order in 1978. Since then it is owned by

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 ...

and used to pump water into nature reserve De 'Stobbepoel'. The tjasker is listed as

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 386197. The

are stored indoors during winter.

Grou

The paaltjasker was built in 2001 by S. Wobbes from

Warstiens Warstiens is a small village in Leeuwarden municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 35 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in 1477 as Wer-steens, and means "parcel of land of St ...

and erected by the owner E. Liezenga at his campsite near

Grou Grou ( nl, Grouw) is a town in the province Friesland of the Netherlands and had around 5655 citizens in January 2017. Since 2014 Grou is part of the municipality of Leeuwarden. The town is located on the lake and the . Heineken operated a distr ...

It Heidenskip

The paaltjasker was built in 1915 by R.W. Dijksma as requested by farmer J. Noordenbos. It is the only tjasker in the Netherlands that has remained functional in its original location. It is situated between

Workum Workum () is a city located in the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân in Friesland, Netherlands. It received city rights in 1399 and is one of the eleven cities of Friesland. It had a population of 4,435 in January 2017.It Heidenskip It Heidenskip ( nl, Heidenschap) is a village in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 335 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in 1511 as Heijdenscip, and means "wild gr ...

and is in full working order. The tjasker has four

, which have a span of and can drain a plot of meadow land. The mill is private property and operated by volunteer millers.

Nij Beets

The paaltjasker was built in 2002 by a group of volunteers for open-air museum ''It Damshûs'' in

Nij Beets Nij Beets ( nl, Nieuw Beets) is a village in the municipality of Opsterland in the east of Friesland in the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,705 in January 2017. History Nij Beets was founded in 1863 by peat workers. The peat workers ...

. The museum shows aspects of the former

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

industry and the mill can be used to regulate the water level in the peat extraction pit. The tjasker can be visited during opening hours of the museum.

Nijetrijne

The boktjasker was at first built in 1967 and drained nature reserve ''De Bonne Brekken'' in

Wijckel Wijckel ( fry, Wikel) is a village in De Fryske Marren municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 645 in 2017. History The village was first mentioned in the 13th century Wicle. The etymology is uncle ...

. It was damaged in a storm in 2001 and dismantled. The remnants were left in storage until the mill was restored in 2007 and re-erected in nature reserve De Rottige Meenthe. The tjasker is owned by

and pumps water between two former

extraction pits. The four

have a span of . It is one of only three remaining ''boktjaskers''.

Tijnje

;De Deelen
The paaltjasker was built in 1973 by R.W. Dijksma as the fifth in a 'new' series of post-war tjaskers and placed in nature reserve De Deelen, east of

Tijnje Tijnje ( fry, De Tynje) is a village in the municipality of Opsterland in the east of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,510 in January 2017. There are two windmills in the village, Boezemmolen and De Deelen. The latter ...

. The mill is owned by

and can be used to pump water into the nature reserve. The four symmetrical

have a span of and are covered by wooden slats instead of sail cloth.

Veenwouden

The paaltjasker was built for

in 1975. Tjaskerbuilder Roelof Dijksma died during its construction and the mill was finished by the cousins Smid. It lost its function and was dismantled and restored in 1996 but not re-erected until 2005 in the same nature reserve ''De Houtwiel'' near Veenwouden but in a different location. Though operational it has no real function, instead it pumps water in a circuit. The four

have a span of .

Wergea

The paaltjasker was built by owner Sieds Wobbes in 1996 and is located at his home in

near

Wergea Wergea ( nl, Warga) is a village in Leeuwarden municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 1,560 in January 2017. There are two windmills in the village, De Hempenserpoldermolen and a paaltjasker. Hi ...

. Though operational it has no real function, instead it pumps water in a circuit.

Wijckel

;De Zandpoel / Sânpoel
The paaltjasker was built in 1975 for

to pump water into nature reserve ''De Zandpoel'' near

. The windshaft has an extra support bearing just above the

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 ...

. The mill is located near a small rest stop on the N359 road between

Lemmer Lemmer () is a town in the municipality of De Fryske Marren, in the Dutch province of Friesland. Lemmer lies adjacent to the IJsselmeer and the Frisian Lakes and is one of Friesland's best-known surface water sports locations. Lemmer is a bustlin ...

and

Sondel Sondel is a village in De Fryske Marren municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 410 in 2017. History The village was first mentioned in 1422 Syndele. The etymologie is not clear. Sondel developed o ...

Dutch Wikipedia articles

* Tjasker Allingawier *

Tjasker Augustinusga The tjasker (West Frisian: , German: ) is a small type of windmill used solely for drainage purposes. It is distinctive for its simple construction, featuring only a single inclined shaft that carries the sails on one end and an Archimedes' screw o ...

* Tjasker Bolsward * Tjasker De Hoeve * Tjasker Vesuvius, Elsloo * Tjasker Grouw * Tjasker It Heidenskip * Tjasker Nij Beets * Tjasker Nijetrijne * Tjasker De Deelen, Tijnje * Tjasker Veenwouden * Tjasker Warga * Tjasker Zandpoel, Wijckel

References

{{Dutch Windmills Windmills in Friesland