Although you can find windmills in many countries, in the Netherlands there are so many of them that many people around the globe (myself included) see them as typically an iconic symbol of Dutch culture. A few years ago on a train journey from Venlo to Amsterdam I was disappointed to only view wind turbines through the window of my train carriage. What’s happened to all the traditional windmills I thought? What a shame if they had been replaced by all those towering lumps of metal which have zero charm of the real thing.
A few weeks ago I was back in the Netherlands to visit a good friend who now lives there and when he asked me “is there anything you want to see or do?” my immediate answer was to see a historic windmill up close. Luckily there were several in the local area so when the weather wasn’t at its best it was a good opportunity for a drive out to view some.
Built in 1899, Eendracht Maakt Macht, was celebrating its 125th birthday. It was built to grind cattle feed for the farmers but around 1960 the mill became redundant due to more modern milling methods and shut operations. In 1976 the municipality of Horst decided to take over the mill and a bakery was added to the rear. Since 1994, the management of the mill is in the hands of the Molen Eendracht Maakt Macht foundation, volunteer millers who run the mill one a week. Although the mill is open to visitors to walk in and take a look around, sadly it was not open when we arrived. Nevertheless, I was more than happy to get my wish, and suitably impressed to get up close to the vast structure, which looked even more impressive stood proud on the elevated ground it’s built on.
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