De Sterrenberg 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 t ...

in Nijeveen,

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It was built in 1977. The mill is listed as a

Rijksmonument A (, ) 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 had 61,822 l ...

, number 30957. (Click on "Technische gegevens" to view)

History

The windmill in Nijeveen was demolished in 1928. In the 1970s, it was decided that Nijeveen should have a windmill again, and a search was made for a suitable replacement. ''De Sterrenberg'' was originally built at

Weener Weener () is a town in the district of Leer (district), Leer, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Ems (river), Ems. The towns population is at 15,654, making it the largest town of the region ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1786. The mill was dismantled in 1976 and rebuilt brick by brick in Nijeveen. The mill is named for its former owners in Germany, the Sterrenberg family. On 13 January 1977, the smock was placed on the new brick base. The

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

responsible for the rebuild was the firm Schakel of Exmorra,

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

. The base was built by the firm Elphenhof of

De Wijk De Wijk () is a village in the Netherlands province of Drenthe. It is located in the municipality of De Wolden, and is about 7 km southeast of Meppel. It is home to Rijksmonument A (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, li ...

. The official opening ceremony on 11 August 1977 was performed by

Prince Claus Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Jonkheer van Amsberg (born Klaus-Georg Wilhelm Otto Friedrich Gerd von Amsberg; 6 September 1926 – 6 October 2002) was Prince consort of the Netherlands, Prince of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until his d ...

. The mill was damaged in a storm in March 1995 with various shutters being blown out of the sails. (Click on "Geschiedenis" to view) The mill was repaired by the end of that year. Major repairs to the sails were undertaken in 2002-03.

Description

''De Sterrenberg'' is what the Dutch describe as an ''achtkante stellingmolen'', or "octagonal tower mill". It is a smock mill with a stage on a three-storey brick base. The stage is above ground level. The smock and cap are thatched. The cap is winded by a fantail, the only windmill in Drenthe so equipped. The four Patent sails have a span of . They are carried in a wooden ''windshaft'' with a cast iron poll end. The ''windshaft'' also carries the ''brake wheel'', which has 61 cogs. The ''brake wheel'' drives the ''wallower'' (30 cogs) at the top of the ''upright shaft''. At the bottom of the ''upright shaft'', the ''great spur wheel'', which has 86 cogs, drives the two ''lantern pinion stone nuts'', which have 28 staves each. These drive the

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, used for triturating, crushing or, more specifically, grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a s ...

s. One pair are Cullen stones of diameter. The other pair have a French Burr runner stone on a Cullen bedstone, both diameter.

Public access

''De Sterrenberg'' is open every Saturday from 09:00 to 12:30.

References

External links

De Sterrenberg website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sterrenberg, Nijeveen Windmills in Drenthe Smock mills in the Netherlands Windmills completed in 1977 Rijksmonuments in Drenthe Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands De Sterrenberg, Nijeveen