De Zwaluw (English: ''
The Swallow'') 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
Burdaard,
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 ...
,
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 ...
which is working commercially. 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 15585.
[ (Click on "Technische gegevens" to view.)]
History
The first mill on this site was a smock mill called ''De Windlust'' (English: ''The desire for wind'') which was built for Douwe Dirks Drukker of
Burum in 1841.
[ (Click on "History" to view.)] This was a corn mill which stood west of the present mill.
[ Drukker sold the mill on 25 April 1851 to Klaas Freerks Steenhuizen for ƒ6,000.][ ''De Windlust'' was burnt down on 15 September 1874.][Click on Burdaard/ Birdaard, De Windlust (verdwenen)]
under Interne Verwijzing(en) ''De Zwaluw'' was built as a corn and pearl barley mill to replace it. 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'') ...
was G R van Wieren of Smitshuis. ''De Zwaluw'' was built for Klaas Steenhuizen. Between 1875 and 1878, the base of a paltrok mill was placed alongside ''De Zwaluw'' and driven by the mill. Steenhuizen had four sons, two of which worked the mill. Paulus worked in the pearl barley mill and Jan worked the sawmill. ''De Zwaluw'' was built with Patent sails, one of the first mills in the north of the Netherlands so equipped.[
After the death of his father, Paulus Steenhuizen moved into the mill house with his wife Berber Bosma. They had two daughters, Janke and Reinje. Janke helped her father in the mill. She married Anne Hessel de Groot, who took over the mill after the death of Paulus Steenhuizen on 26 March 1936.][ In 1954, the mill lost a pair of sails. It worked by wind in this condition until 1960.][ The mill was worked in its latter years by Anne Hessel de Groot and Tjebbe Overzet until the death of Anne Hessel de Groot on 8 April 1966. The mill was listed as a Rijksmonument in 1971.][ On 11 November 1972, the mill was struck by ]lightning
Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
and burnt down, leaving the base and saw mill standing. Tjebbe Overzet died in 1974.[
Restoration by Fabrikaat Buurma of ]Oudeschans
Oudeschans () is a small village with a population of around 100 in the municipality of Westerwolde (municipality), Westerwolde in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the Netherlands. The 16th-century fortification is now a state p ...
, Groningen
Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
was started in 1984 and completed in 1987.[ but it now carries four Patent sails.
When the mill was first restored it was only as a landmark. Much of the equipment for milling was missing. Miller Jan Tollenaar finally got ''De Zwaluw'' restored as a working windmill in October 1988. At first, trade was rather slow, but this improved after ''De Hoop'', ]Stiens
Stiens is a town in the municipality of Leeuwarden, Netherlands. As of January 2017, the town had a population of about 7,545. Between 1944 and 2018, it was the capital of the municipality of Leeuwarderadeel.
History
The village was first mention ...
burnt down. Former customers of ''De Hoop'' then came to ''De Zwaluw''. When ''De Hoop'' was rebuilt, trade there was slow because it had lost its market. The business at ''De Zwaluw'' has expanded to include a campsite and moorings.[
The mill lies alongside the Dokkummer Ee, and is passed by participants in the ]Elfstedentocht
The ''Elfstedentocht'' (; West Frisian language, West Frisian: ''Alvestêdetocht'' , English language, English: ''Eleven cities tour'') is a long-distance tour skating event on natural ice, almost long, which is held both as a speed skating com ...
.[ (Click on "Geschiedenis" to view.)] The mill is grinding on a daily basis, with the sawmill at work on Saturdays.
Description
''De Zwaluw'' is what the Dutch describe as an "achtkante stellingmolen". It is a smock mill with a stage. The brick base is five storeys with the stage at fourth-floor level, above ground level. The two-storey smock is thatch
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, Phragmites, water reed, Cyperaceae, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), Juncus, rushes, Calluna, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away fr ...
ed as is the cap, which is winded by a tailpole and winch. The four Patent sails, which have a span of , are carried in a cast-iron ''windshaft'' which was cast by Ijzergieterij Versteeg-Ensink of Hardinxveld-Giessendam
Hardinxveld-Giessendam () is a municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is located about 10 km east of Dordrecht, on the river Beneden-Merwede. The municipality had a population of in and covers an are ...
in 1985. This was the first ''windshaft'' cast by Versteeg-Ensink.[
The ''windshaft'' also carries the ''brake wheel'' which has 70 cogs. This drives the conical lantern pinion ''wallower'' (38 staves) at the top of the ''upright shaft''. At the bottom of the ''upright shaft'', the ''great spur wheel'' drives four pairs of ]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. Two pairs are used for making flour and two pairs are used to produce pearl barley. The flour stones are each driven by a ''stone nut'' with 30 staves and the pearl barley stones are each driven by a ''stone nut'' with 20 staves. A lantern pinion with 35 staves drives carries the drive to the saw via a shaft. At the opposite end of this shaft, a gear with 35 cogs drives a ''wallower'' with 44 cogs. This drives a gear with 26 cogs which drives another gear with 51 cogs on the axle of the frame saw.[
]
Millers
;De Windlust
*Douwe Durks Drukker 1841-51
*Klaas Freerks Steenhuizen 1851-74
;De Zwaluw
*Klaas Freerks Steenhuizen 1874-
*Paulus Steenhuizen -1936
*Jan Steenhuizen
*Janke Steenhuizen
*Anne Hessel de Groot -1966
*Tjebbe Overzet -1966
*Jan Tollenaar 1988 to date
References for above:-[ (Mouseover "The mill" then click on "The miller" to view.)]
Public access
The mill is open to the public 1 May to 1 October, Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 12:00 and 13:30 - 1700, and at other times by appointment.[ Click on "Information" to view.]
References
External links
Mill websiteMiller's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zwaluw, Burdaard
Windmills in Friesland
Windmills completed in 1987
Smock mills in the Netherlands
Rijksmonuments in Friesland
Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands