The Grutte Mûne (English: ''Great Mill'', Dutch: ''De Grote Molen'') is a smock mill in Broeksterwâld,

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 has been restored to working order. 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 11679. (Click on "Technische gegevens" to view.)

History

In 1880 a windmill was built on this site by

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'') ...

Oege Plantinga of

Wânswert Wânswert () is a village in Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of approximately 193 in January 2017. Before 2019, the village was part of the Ferwerderadiel municipality. History The village w ...

. This mill was burnt down in 1887. The ''Grutte Mûne'' was built to replace it by millwright Gerben van Wieren of

Jannum Jannum () is a small village in Noardeast-Fryslân municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, oversea ...

. It was originally built with two

Archimedes' screw The Archimedes' screw, also known as the Archimedean screw, hydrodynamic screw, water screw or Egyptian screw, is one of the earliest documented hydraulic machines. It was so-named after the Greek mathematician Archimedes who first described it ...

s. The mill was at one time equipped with Patent sails. In 1934, one of the Archimedes' screws was transferred to the ''Lytse Mûne''. The spurwheel needed to drive the second screw was removed around 1986 and later reused in gristmill De Vlijt. A centrifugal pump was installed in 1943 and the mill ceased to work. The mill was restored in 1959 and again in 1975, at which time the patent system sails were replaced by commons sails. In 1977 it was sold to

Stichting De Fryske Mole The Stichting De Fryske Mole (; ; ) 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 which it publishes a q ...

(English: ''Frisian Mills Foundation''). A further restoration was undertaken in 1994. (Click on "Geschiedenis" to view.) In 2010 and 2011 major restoration work was done. Amongst others it was decided to repair the riveted stocks dating from 1902 instead of replacing them with new welded steel stocks and to refit the patent system which had been removed in 1975.

Description

The ''Grutte Mûne'' is what the Dutch describe as an "achtkante grondzeiler". It is a smock mill winded by a winch. There is no stage, the sails reaching almost to the ground. The mill has a single-storey brick base and a two-storey smock. The smock and cap are

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. The four Patent sails have a span of and are carried in a cast-iron ''windshaft'', which was cast by Prins van Oranje,

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in 1879. The ''windshaft'' also carries the clasp arm ''brake wheel'', which has 66 cogs. This drives the ''wallower'' (35 cogs) at the top of the ''upright shaft''. At the bottom of the ''upright shaft'', the ''crown wheel'' (48 cogs) drives the wooden Archimedes' screw via a gear wheel with 42 cogs. The Archimedes' screw has an axle diameter of and is diameter overall. It is inclined at an angle of 15°. Each revolution of the screw lifts of water.

References

External links

Mill working with refitted Patent sails (youtube movie)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grote Molen Windmills in Friesland Windmills completed in 1887 Smock mills in the Netherlands Rijksmonuments in Friesland Dantumadiel Octagonal buildings in the Netherlands