Wandering up to Willemstad's Windmill - 2016

Flowers in the sidewalk outside the shop

When the rain/sleet stopped, I left and went over and took photos of the windmill and some of the fort walls, and the marina. Unfortunately, I this meant that missed going to the Dome Church which was where the ship excursion was going to go

Dome Church

The Dome church was heavily damaged during the artillery shellings of the Allies between 30-10-1944 and 06-11-1944. The church was restored in 1959.

Trees and houses



Street and front gardens


Path around the fort walls (which I did not take)

I did see it, or part of it when I went up to the windmill.

Stream and bridge



Wheels to control water?

There are also some big wheels which I think must be some kind of sluice gate which regulates water flow, although I don't know exactly how they work. I saw one right up next to the windmill and another one down by the stream

Jeroen van der Werf in Fortified Places says"
To regulate the water level in front of the two seaward bastions there are sluices in the western dam and near the harbour on the eastern side. On the harbour side a second sluice is made to flood the ditch inside the town. To regulate the water level in the ditch surrounding the town and the covered way'as well as a means to flood the polder a third sluice was made near the only landward gate to the town. Protecting this gate is the only demi-lune'in the fortress* But he has no photos of the sluices so I don't know whether these are what he was talking about or not

Earthworks


Fort wall near the windmill


There are good views of the fort walls below the windmill


Windmill


Windmill

d'Orangemolen

The town windmill is high up above the town. In the 1500's the land was a muddy marshland, used by shepherds. A Dutch marquis turned the area into a polder. This polder (called originally Ruigenhil) was in a very strategic position between the south and north parts of the Netherlands and on an important Dutch river, the Maas. William of Orange (aka William the Silent) caused the fort with a moat 125 feet wide to be built to protect against the Spanish, and after he died his son the town went to his son Maurits. The windmill which was originally a flour mill is called d'Orangemolen. It is visible from just about everywhere in town. It is very old, having been built in 1734 as a corn mill. It has been decommissioned, but visits are possible by appointment. This windmill was the one that I saw up close on this trip. One side of the windmill is white and the other side is brown (described in a datebase as a round stone mill partly plastered and whitewashed. The hood is covered with roofing felt.

Next to the windmill


Road past the marina near the windmill


Marina from the base of the windmill

This is one of the two marinas in Willemstad. It is below the windmill on the same side as where AmaViola docked. Most of the boats appeared to be sailboats - there was a forest of masts. Sailing is big in the Netherlands. There is a nearby chandler (a store to buy boat stuff) called Yacht Willemstad.

Yacht Willemstad


Pub Anno 1610 --the oldest Pub in Willemstad.

't Pumpke

't Pumpke has a covered and heated terrace so that you can enjoy the view but be out of the weather.