{"id":1335,"date":"2022-03-04T07:58:33","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T07:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koesterdoel.be\/index.php\/2022\/03\/04\/de-scheldemolen\/"},"modified":"2022-05-06T10:16:47","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T10:16:47","slug":"de-scheldemolen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koesterdoel.be\/en\/index.php\/2022\/03\/04\/de-scheldemolen\/","title":{"rendered":"The Scheldt Mill"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Scheldt Mill is the only windmill on a dike in Flanders.<\/span> The mill has been there since the early 17th century and served successively as a fortress, water pumping station, windmill, country house, museum, German army post, British army post, monument and tavern.<\/span> Above all, the mill is a unique beacon on the Scheldt to this day.<\/span><\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Fort, water pumping station and windmill<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

In old charters the mill of Doel is mentioned as the ‘corn windmill of the Kerkengat’. The Kerkengat was one of the numerous small Scheldt arms that ran into the country. The Dutch fortress Kerkengat stood here from 1585 to 1609. Whether the mill was built on the foundations of this fortress needs further investigation.<\/span><\/span>
\nA wooden mill probably already stood here between the start of the Eighty Years’ War in 1567 and the breaching of the dikes at the Siege of Antwerp in 1584\/85. In 1610 a water pumping station was built on this spot to pump the water from the flooded polder. In 1612 the Lord of Beveren granted permission to build a corn windmill.<\/span><\/span>
\nBecause the Zeeschelde starts at Doel, this mill is a rarity. In addition to the Doel windmill, there is only one other in the Low Countries that is located on a sea dike. However, the mill is not on the dike, but is wedged into it. Its foundations run extraordinarily deep. This suggests that there are two mill constructions placed one above the other, the lower part of which may be the remains of the water mill. This is also the subject of further research.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Monument, tavern, landmark<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

In 1945 the mill came back into the possession of the Herman family. The museum was reopened and visitors could admire the surroundings from the observation tower with orientation table. In 1946 the mill was classified by the Commission for Monuments and Sites. It was restored by mill maker P. Mariman from Zele and festively inaugurated on 15-17 August 1958. A memorial stone above the entrance door commemorates this event.<\/span><\/span>
\nIn 1959 the mill came into the hands of the Touring Club of Belgium and in 1978 of the municipality of Beveren, which had an external restoration carried out. The interior of the mill and the outbuilding were converted into a restaurant and have remained so to this day. The mill is often photographed with the cooling towers of the Nuclear Power Plant in the background, as a contrast between old and new energy. \u2018For all sailors, the first greeting from Antwerp, or the last goodbye is the Molen van Doel, which has risen above the dike and the water like a loyal watchman for centuries.’ (November 12, 1959, television report by the N.I.R.)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The mill as a lookout post during WWII<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Country house, museum, army post<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

In 1927, the ground sail was fitted with a chain barge. The rear of the mill, the tail with whips, was removed. The roof with the blades was fitted with a wheel that rested on a toothed band and under which ran a cord with which it could be positioned in the wind. The riveted flight of approximately 20.5 m is probably also from that time. However, the competition from industrial mills had become too great and the last miller in Doel sold the mill in 1929 to an Antwerp resident who used the building as a country retreat. The man removed the millstones and the mechanism, but left the sight and blades intact. When he died, the mill was bought in 1933 by Eugeen Herman, who housed a mill museum there. The entrance fee would serve to cover the maintenance costs of the blades and the building.<\/span><\/span>
\nIn May 1940 the Germans occupied Doel. The mill was placed in the defense belt of Antwerp and served as a lookout post. The upper part of the roof was removed and a circular observation post in wood and glass was built on the mill, while a small building was added to the mill for the watch.<\/span><\/span>
\nIn 1944 Doel and the mill were occupied by the British. The British guard of the mill was to signal the V1 bombs aimed at Antwerp, while the RAF and the British Anti-Aircraft batteries, positioned on the seawall, had to defuse them.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n