Mill Zeldenrust
Mill Zeldenrust has been an integral part of the villagescape of Westerwijtwerd for over a century and a half. Cherished by owners and local residents, it survived the storms of time. For 140 years, the mill was owned by the Hazekamp family.
Take a closer look
Zeldenrust is an octagonal tower mill. The scaffold is the wooden walkway on top of a (usually) stone substructure. Rack mills are therefore up to 12 metres higher than ground-sailors. Groundsailers are mills whose sails almost touch the ground. They are usually found in built-up areas. After all, more height is needed there to catch enough wind. Ground-sailors are located in open fields.
Until the rise of the potato and wheat bread, for centuries the popular food consisted mainly of rye bread and gortebrij. Hence, many mills were set up not only to grind corn into flour, but also to husk barley into groats. They were thus both a corn mill and a hulling mill.
For husking barley, a...
Zeldenrust is an octagonal tower mill. The scaffold is the wooden walkway on top of a (usually) stone substructure. Rack mills are therefore up to 12 metres higher than ground-sailors. Groundsailers are mills whose sails almost touch the ground. They are usually found in built-up areas. After all, more height is needed there to catch enough wind. Ground-sailors are located in open fields.
Until the rise of the potato and wheat bread, for centuries the popular food consisted mainly of rye bread and gortebrij. Hence, many mills were set up not only to grind corn into flour, but also to husk barley into groats. They were thus both a corn mill and a hulling mill.
Barley husking required different stones than flour milling. Husking stones were heavy sandstones and weighed up to 2,000 kilos each! A hulling mill could therefore only work when the wind force was at least 5 Beaufort, equivalent to a strong breeze.
Especially in the province of Groningen, barley was widely grown and eaten (mousse stamppot, poffert, krentjebrij). So it is not for nothing that the only barley production factory in the Netherlands (Offringa) still stands in our province.
Opening hours:
When the flag is flying and/or the mill is running, you are welcome to come and take a look under the guidance of the miller present.