Leiden, the Netherlands' Center of Academia

Leiden

When Karen invited me to visit Europe with her, there were several places that it was pretty well assumed that we would visit. One of them was Leiden. This is where she did a year of university studies as an exchange student.

I had never been here before, and I was not disappointed. It is a nice, medium sized Dutch city. Being the site of the country's foremost university, it is busy with college students. It is a beautiful city, with many historic old buildings and two working windmills.

Here is the gateway, or port to the heart of the old city. The white structure in front of it is the support structure of a drawbridge which raises and lowers to allow traffic to pass through the canal which surrounds the city. In the olden days most of the larger cities were walled and fortified for protection.

Centered on the bridge is the city's coat of arms, a pair of red keys in a crossed pattern.

Windmills

At one time there were thousands of windmills everywhere throughout the Netherlands. They provided the power needed to mill flour, pump water, cut logs, and do many other things as well.

Today less than 10% of the old windmills survive. Some were abandoned and had fallen into disrepair. Over the years, some were destroyed in fires. In many cases, the land upon which they sat was needed for other purposes and were razed. Some have been converted over to other uses, such as museums, restaurants, and even homes.

In Leiden there are two actual working windmills. This one, called "de Put" is a replica of an older one which stood on the same site, but was destroyed.

The other remaining windmill is called "De Valk," or the falcon. De Valk is a rather large windmill, previously used for milling grain, which has been converted into a museum. It is about eight stories tall. The bottom four stories, which sit beneath the decking were the home of the farmer and the family who formerly inhabited it. Inside are the kitchen, living, dining, and sleeping rooms of the family. One the bottom level is also a work area, where millstones and sacks of wheat were brought in, and the sacks of flour were loaded onto wagons and taken away.

The upper levels, from the deck up to the top, are the actual mill. Inside were big wooden shafts and big wooden gears. The wind turns a the vanes, which are connected to a horizontal shaft, running through the very top of the windmill on the inside.

Near the center of the shaft is a gear, which in turn meshes with another gear, connected to another shaft, which runs vertically through the center of the windmill.

The millstones are about eight feet in diameter and about twelve inches thick. They are attached to the vertical shaft. When the wind blows the wooden shafts begin to rotate, thus turning the millstones.

"How do they get all of the grain and the massive millstones into the upper floors of the windmill?" you might ask. It's quite simple. There is a system of ropes, pulleys, levers and chains, powered by the wind of course which are used like a powerful crane to lift heavy objects to the upper floors of the windmill.

We went into de Valk and climbed up to the deck. The windmill is located on a piece of high ground, and is quite tall besides. Needless to say the view was spectacular.

Yes, spectacular, but not to mention a bit scary. While we were enjoying the view from the deck, a storm started to roll through. The started blowing quite hard. After a while I settled for enjoying the view through the windmill's doorway.

Visit Amsterdam, Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp, Brugge, Zierikzee.

Go to more places.

Go home.

Or email me with your comments.

web hosting • domain names
web design • online games

	At one time there were thousands of windmills everywhere throughout the Netherlands. They provided the power needed to mill flour, pump water, cut logs, and do many other things as well. Today less than 10% of the old windmills survive. Some were abandoned and had fallen into disrepair. Over the years, some were destroyed in fires. In many cases, the land upon which they sat was needed for other purposes and were razed. Some have been converted over to other uses, such as museums, restaurants, and even homes. In Leiden there are two actual working windmills. This one, called "de Put" is a replica of an older one which stood on the same site, but was destroyed.
The other remaining windmill is called "De Valk," or the falcon. De Valk is a rather large windmill, previously used for milling grain, which has been converted into a museum. It is about eight stories tall. The bottom four stories, which sit beneath the decking were the home of the farmer and the family who formerly inhabited it. Inside are the kitchen, living, dining, and sleeping rooms of the family. One the bottom level is also a work area, where millstones and sacks of wheat were brought in, and the sacks of flour were loaded onto wagons and taken away. The upper levels, from the deck up to the top, are the actual mill. Inside were big wooden shafts and big wooden gears. The wind turns a the vanes, which are connected to a horizontal shaft, running through the very top of the windmill on the inside. Near the center of the shaft is a gear, which in turn meshes with another gear, connected to another shaft, which runs vertically through the center of the windmill. The millstones are about eight feet in diameter and about twelve inches thick. They are attached to the vertical shaft. When the wind blows the wooden shafts begin to rotate, thus turning the millstones. "How do they get all of the grain and the massive millstones into the upper floors of the windmill?" you might ask. It's quite simple. There is a system of ropes, pulleys, levers and chains, powered by the wind of course which are used like a powerful crane to lift heavy objects to the upper floors of the windmill.
	We went into de Valk and climbed up to the deck. The windmill is located on a piece of high ground, and is quite tall besides. Needless to say the view was spectacular.
Yes, spectacular, but not to mention a bit scary. While we were enjoying the view from the deck, a storm started to roll through. The started blowing quite hard. After a while I settled for enjoying the view through the windmill's doorway.