De Prins Van Oranje, Buren

Geschiedenis

De Prins van Oranje is a tower mill in Buren, Gelderland, Netherlands which was built in 1716 and has been restored to working order. The mill is listed as a Rijksmonument.HistoryThere was a windmill on the town wall at Buren in 1575, when it was burnt down. It was a post mill. Another post mill was built in 1577 to replace it. This mill appears on a drawing dated 1646/47 by Roelant Roghman and a painting by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten of a slightly later date. The mill was in poor condition in 1716; it was demolished and replaced by a tower mill. The mill gets it name De Prins van Oranje from being owned from 1716-95 by the Count of Buren, a title now held by the Dutch Monarch. The tower mill was a corn mill and pearl barley mill.In 1911, the mill caught fire. It was restored using machinery from De Reus (The Giant), Rotterdam, South Holland. This was an oil mill which had been demolished in 1910. The mill was raised several metres when it was rebuilt after the fire. In 1913, it was fitted with Patent sails. The mill's business, making flour for local bakeries, disappeared after 1918 and the internal machinery was removed. In 1947, the Patent sails were removed. Also in that year, the mill was purchased by the Gemeente Buren. It was restored externally in 1952 and was maintained as a landmark for over 20 years. In 1974, the mill was fully restored, with new internal machinery. De Prins van Oranje is listed as a Rijksmonument, № 11333.