Once widespread, horse mills are now rare in Flanders. Powered by the horse rather than the wind, this type of mill was used to compensate for the vagaries of the weather, thus supplementing the production of windmills. It's also known in Flemish as the "Rosmeule" or "Rosse Mulle".
The principle is simple: the horse turns outside the building and activates the two millstones by means of a beam protruding from the roof ridge.
It was built with old materials in 2010, by the Yser Houck association, on the basis of documents and archives found and plans drawn up by the Association Régionale des Amis des Moulins. A Belgian mill carpenter built the mechanism.
The Volckerinckhove horse mill has no sifting mill, so the flour is not separated from the bran.
Nowadays, the horse is only present at major events.
Come and discover this unique mill. Visits are possible on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, by prior arrangement.
The principle is simple: the horse turns outside the building and activates the two millstones by means of a beam protruding from the roof ridge.
It was built with old materials in 2010, by the Yser Houck association, on the basis of documents and archives found and plans drawn up by the Association Régionale des Amis des Moulins. A Belgian mill carpenter built the mechanism.
The Volckerinckhove horse mill has no sifting mill, so the flour is not separated from the bran.
Nowadays, the horse is only present at major events.
Come and discover this unique mill. Visits are possible on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, by prior arrangement.
