Schiedam - Netherlands

After a few cancelled trips in the last years due to covid and other issues, my friend Anne finally made it to the Netherlands to spend a few days with our mutual friend Tessa. They send me a card from Tessa's hometown, Schiedam. This city is known for its gin and liquor distilleries, and it is a major shipbuilding centre. The city is also known for it's windmills, the tallest traditional mills in the world. 

In the 18th century, Schiedam became the ‘jenever’ (Dutch gin) capital of the world. The windmills played an important role in the production. These cylindrical shape ‘tower stage’ mills with stone brick exterior and a movable wooden ‘cap’ or roof were built taller than the surrounding buildings, so they could catch the flow of air needed to turn the sails. By 1880, there were 400 distilleries in the city producing the famous gin of Schiedam. At the peak of 19th century, there were as many as twenty operating windmills grinding assorted grains which was then sold to the local distilleries.

Nowadays, there are only seven mills left of the twenty that once stood tall right here in the historic old town.

This is a replica mill where up to 1865 flour mill, De Kameel, once stood nearby. Due to a fire, it was demolished completely in 1868. Windmill De Kameel was officially opened for use again in 2011, equipped with a pair of grinding stones and able to generate electricity. It also has a cave where small boats can sail into the mill through a semi-circular passageway for loading and unloading. De Kameel houses the De Schiedamse Windmill Foundation. - in: https://ibecomingdutch.wordpress.com