Mill Museum

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Welcome to

The Society of Zaan Mills was founded in 1925. Its first success was the restoration of oil mill De Zoeker. Three years later, the Mill Museum was opened.

Now, 84 years later, the Society possesses 12 picturesque industrial mills and a unique museum. The mills are an important part of our cultural heritage and continue to this day to determine the Zaan skyline.

Thanks to the support of some 3,700 members, of whom a large number are active volunteers, as well as the support and sponsorship from government and the business community, the Society is able to keep its current portfolio in excellent shape.

It is my pleasure to invite you to stroll past our windmills, to pay a visit to our museum and to peek behind the scenes of our Society.

André Drost(chairman)

The Society of Zaan Mills

Museumlaan 18

1541 LP Koog aan de Zaan

The Netherlands

Telephone number: 0031 75 6215148

Email: info@zaanschemolen.nl

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Mill in perspective

De Koker (The Chute)

Flour mill located at Oosteinde in Wormer

Wormer can attribute much of its fame to one activity, the baking of ships' biscuits. Flour was needed to bake these biscuits and in order to have sufficient flour wheat had to be ground in the mills. This activity began as long ago as the 16th century with one mill but when the demand for baking products began to grow exponentially more and more mills appeared for the purpose of grinding wheat.

History

Of all the flour mills located in the village, only one is still with us today: De Koker or also called De Zwarte Hengst (The Black Stallion) on the Oosteinde. It is very much the question whether this mill is the original Koker or Zwarte Hengst, because very few mills have been subjected to the kind of treatment this mill had to endure. On various occasions, storm damage devastated its thatched roof, and on two occasions the mill caught fire (in 1840 and 25 years or so later). Despite all that, the mill is here to be enjoyed today, not only as a flour mill, but also as a peeling mill. It can truly be said to have double duties.

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