2007 is "Year of the Windmill" in Holland. Holland owes much to its windmills (and dikes) and wouldn't be the country we know today, if it wasn't for them. This might sound like a bit of an exaggeration, but half of present-day Holland would not exist if it hadn't been for the windmills and the dikes.
Water management
More than 4,000 square kilometres of The Netherlands is reclaimed land from the lakes and sea, which basically means that thousands of Dutch people are living on the bottom of former lakes and sea, thanks to the windmills. This is the result of careful water management since medieval times. Initially, manpower and horsepower were used to drain the land, but by 1414 drainage mills were set up in Holland, an invention probably brought from the Middle East to Europe. And this soon replaced the use of horses and men for drainage.
Inventions and developments
The Dutch didn't invent the first windmills, however the subsequent development of mills may be attributed to Holland. In the 17th century the invention of the camshaft and the crankshaft made it possible to use wind energy for industrial purposes in the timber, paper and colouring industry. Paper or parchment produced in this new manner was often of premium quality. Did you for instance know that "The American Declaration of Independence" in 1776 was written on parchment from Holland? The windmill that can claim this honour is believed to be "De Schoolmester" from 1692 in the Zaan area.
Basically there are two types of windmills, those for industrial purposes and those for drainage. Industrial mills are named according to their uses such as sawmills, etc. The drainage mills obviously keep the land free of surplus water, thereby creating reclaimed land.
Mill language
According to the position of the windmill sail that can be tilted one way or another, the local townspeople in the past knew what the miller was up to. The four possibilities were:
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Celebration
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Mourning
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Brief resting
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Longer time resting
In a crisis the resting positions can also be used to signal messages to insiders. This facet was utilized during World War II, when messages were dispatched by pre-arranged signals used to warn people in hiding about up-coming raids.
Mills brought wealth
Thanks to the huge saws powered by the windmills, the Dutch could build ships, which gave the Netherlands its commercial power in the Golden Age of the 17th century. Besides this, the windmills played an important role in shaping the social fabric of the country. The Dutch are well known for their tolerance and consensus models. Many believe these characteristics have been shaped historically by the need for local consensus when making decisions on which millers to hire and which areas to drain. There was a lot co-ordination and involvement of citizens in the days of the mills. Tolerance and consensus are still upheld as vital components of Dutch society today.
Testimonies
Later technology with first steam engines, then combustion engines and finally the electric motor gradually replaced windmills and watermills. Many mills were therefore demolished, used for storage or just became dilapidated and forgotten. By 1923 only 3,000 out of 10,000 mills remained. Today only about 1,050 of them remain bearing witness of times when life depended on the mills.
National symbols
But ask a child: What do you associate with Holland? Many will answer windmills, tulips or Anne Frank. Mills are an integrated part of Dutch society with family, street, place and product names often including the word 'mill'. In the Dutch language proverbs often refer to mills. An irrational person, for instance, is said to have "had a knock on his head from the windmill."
Year of the Windmill
2007 has been declared the "Year of the Windmill" by the Dutch Windmill Society. The celebrations of this national symbol that has brought Holland so many of its riches and shaped its social fabric is an excellent idea. The mills were threatened in the 20th century by urban expansion and lack of interest, but by celebrating the windmill year, the Dutch are reminded of their unique national heritage. This also brings political focus on the windmills, including the need for funding to restore and conserve the surviving mills. An estimated 30% of the windmills need to be restored, therefore 2007 will boast events highlighting windmills' history and boosting efforts to preserve the surviving mills. One of the initiatives is an "adopt-a-mill" plan to get the Dutch to "bond" with their windmills!
It already seems to work as the RACM (Rijksdienst voor Archeologie, Cultuurlandschap en Monumenten) has granted a considerable sum to restore windmills.
Related article
Unesco heritage site: Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
Related information
Dutch Windmill Society, www.molens.nl
Official Year of the Windmill website, www.jaarvandemolens.nl (only in Dutch)
Official Holland site, find windmill information under "traditional", Holland
Upcoming Exhibition and Book, "Masters and windmills: from Rembrandt to Mondriaan"
Exhibition from June 15 - September 2, 2007 in Museum Bredius, Den Haag, Holland
Book "Masters and Mills: From Rembrandt to Mondriaan" by Charles Dumas
Birgit O'Sullivan
- 29. januar 2007
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