Knights of the windmill

A tribute to the miller's craft

Since the 17th century, more than 1000 windmills were constructed in the area around the Zaanse Region, creating the first industrial zone in Europe. The windmills were used to grind spices, produce paint, saw wood, and make oil. To make mills work, millers are needed and their training is extensive. Since 2017 the miller’s craft is included on UNESCO’s list of “the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” The goal of these images, taken at the Zaansche Schans, is to spur interest in the new generation to conserve, learn, and work with these historical wind factories.

This project is awarded with the Silver medal at "The Prix de la Photographie Paris 2020" in the category 'Advertising/other'.

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Behind the scenes

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The project

Saw mill 'De Gekroonde Poelenburg' at a stormy sunrise

Miller Ruud Nieuwhof rowing towards oil mill 'De Zoeker'

Ruud's son, Kenzy, putting peanuts underneath the milling stone

Close-up of the peanuts

When the peanuts are fully ground by the milling stone, they are heated on a stove and then put into bags to extract the oil from the peanuts

Ruud Nieuwhof pours freshly crafted oil from the peanuts into a bucket in the presence of his son Kenzy inside oil mill 'De zoeker'

A bottle containing peanut oil

Miller Kenzy Nieuwhof

Miller Ruud Nieuwhof

Miller Ruud & his son Kenzy Nieuwhof having a break

Miller Sjors van Leeuwen reading 'De Enkhuizer Almanak', also called the miller's bible

It contains information about the coming year, such as an extensive calendar with holidays and markets, astronomical data and weather forecasts

Miller Abel Blom inside oil mill 'De Bonte Hen'

Linseed is one of the raw materials used to extract oil inside oil mill 'De Bonte Hen'

Miller Abel Blom empties a bucket of grinded linseed on the pre-heating stove

The miller feels the temperature of the grinded linseed and crushes the chunks

Young miller's apprentice Siebert

Miller Tim Doeves lifts a tree trunk from the Zaan river

When the tree is lifted out of the water miller Tim Doeves starts peeling the tree

After the tree is fully peeled miller Tim Doeves starts preparing the tree on the sled for sawing inside sawmill 'Het Jonge Schaap'

Fully operating on wind power the saws are cutting the tree

Miller Tim Doeves removing the sails from the blades at the end of the day

Miller Abel van Loenen rowing towards paper mill 'De Jonge Dirk' before sunrise

The sun enlightening the inside of paper mill 'De Jonge Dirk'

Miller Abel Blom gets water from the river to fill the paper beating engine

Miller Bart Nieuwenhuijs weighs a bag filled with hulled barley on the scale

When he is not at school he loves helping his dad, miller Bart Nieuwenhuijs, with grinding barley inside the hulling mill 'Het Prinsenhof'

Portrait of one of miller Bart Nieuwenhuijs his three sons

Miller Simon van der Meer turns the windmill into the wind

Ton Leegwater sets the sails at hulling & grain mill 'De Koker'

Miller Ton Leegwater uses a wind-driven hoist mechanism to lift a bag of grain inside hulling & grain mill 'De Koker'

Miller Ton Leegwater removes the knot of the hoist mechanism from the bag

The bag is then emptied onto the milling stones to ground the grain

Millers Ton Leegwater & Simon van der Meer enjoying a coffee break and smoking a pipe inside the millers cabin at hulling & grain mill 'De Koker'

Miller Arie Butterman tears up old pieces of cloth with a knife inside paper mill 'De Schoolmeester', the last fully operational paper mill in the world

The pieces of old cloth serve as raw material for making paper

Using weights to determine the weight of the bag filled with old cloth

Miller Arie Butterman takes a piece of paper made from old cloth and water from the roll

In this state, the fresh paper is still very flexible

Miller Arie Butterman preparing the fresh paper in the drying shed for the drying process

The pieces of paper, also called Zaansch Bord, let to dry. Zaansch Bord is a sturdy paper in various sizes and colors. They are made for cards and it is used by bookbinders and artists