One of Netherlands' oldest windmills no longer safe to operate; Funds needed for repairs

The tower mill in the center of Wijhe is no longer safe to operate. The inspector rejected the mill’s wing cross, and it will cost about 100,000 euros to replace, miller Jan Arink said to RTV Oost. He hopes that locals in the village and the province of Overijssel will help fund these repairs.

The rejection of the winged cross caught Arink by surprise. “We properly budgeted for major maintenance for 40,000 euros. The thatched roof, painting, and replacing the seesaw pole, for example. But we did not take replacing the winged cross into account.”

“One hundred thousand euros. We can’t just put that on the table,” he said to the broadcaster. That’s why he hopes for help from Wijhe locals and the province. “Because not only the miller mourns, all of Wijhe mourns that the mill is standing still.”

Arink has high hopes that all will turn out well. “Because it cannot be the case that this beautiful mill will stand still forever from now on. This special mill is from 1703, one of the oldest in the Netherlands. Impossible.”