Polder mill De Woudaap, Krommeniedijk

The Woudaap is a mill that is still capable of pumping water. Until the beginning of the 21st century, it pumped water from the Het Woud polder and can still be used in emergencies. Until the mid-17th century, Het Woud, also known as the Krommenieër Woudpolder, was land outside the dykes that took its name from the swamp forest that once grew there before it became pastureland. Due to the reclamation of the North Holland lakes in the early 17th century, these pastures were increasingly flooded. Poldering became necessary.

In 1650, work began on the reclamation of Het Woud. The mill needed to drain the new polder was built in or shortly after 1651 on the corner of the Nauernasche Vaart and the Tap- or Tochtsloot. These waterways along the polder were part of the Schermerboezem, the water storage area of the Hoogheemraadschap van de Uitwaterende Sluizen (Water Board of the Drainage Sluices). Despite the drainage, Het Woud remained a very wet area where persistent rain caused a lot of flooding.

The mill probably got its name from the little bittern, a small species of heron that would have felt right at home in Het Woud. This shy marsh bird loves dense reed beds, clinging to the reeds with its long toes and clambering through them like a monkey. Other names include woudhopje and wouwaapje. The latter because its mating call sounds like this: wouw-wouw-wouw. Unfortunately, the little bittern has become rare: around 1970 there were 200 breeding pairs in the Netherlands, now only 20.

Like many North Holland polder mills, the Woudaap is an octagonal smock mill, meaning it is octagonal in shape, with a cap that can be turned to face the wind. Until 1864, the mill had a paddle wheel. When that wheel could no longer drain the water, it was replaced by a wooden screw. This had to be replaced so often that a more durable iron screw was installed in 1916. From the outset, there was a lock next to the mill, the Woudaapsluis. There was also a wooden shed, which burned down in 1874 and was then rebuilt in stone.

From 1877 onwards, the Woudaap no longer had to do the milling alone. From then on, the Krommenie and Het Woud polders worked together on the construction and maintenance of a steam pumping station, De Rapide. From then on, the Woudaap would also be maintained jointly. The polders paid according to the number of hectares covered by both polders: Krommenie 307/706ths and Het Woud 399/706ths. In 1948, the polders merged and the area was renamed the Krommenieër-Woudpolder.

The Woudaap remained a defining feature of the landscape until the 1970s and must also have caught the attention of the Frisian Hotze de Roos (1909-1991). He settled in Krommenie in 1934 and in 1948 his first children's book, De Schippers van de Kameleon(The Skippers of the Kameleon), was published, with Hielke and Sietse Klinkhamer as the main characters. The Kameleon series is set in Friesland, but De Roos found inspiration close to home: the surname Klinkhamer was common in Krommenie, and there were also Klinkhamers in the polder board of Het Woud.

In 1954, an electric motor was installed in the Woudaap, but the last professional miller, Henk Borst (1930-2002), made little use of it, because 'the wind is free'. Borst came from a family of water millers in South Holland and incorporated South Holland style features into the mill. Milling was not a lucrative profession: Borst also kept goats and cows and fished in the polder. He was devoted to the Woudaap and continued to operate the mill until his death.

The little bittern was, as it were, a symbol of the polder. During the annual dike inspection in May, the polder board always visited the little bittern around noon. They would then meet and eat in a special polder room. Miller's wife Borst first served a hearty drink and then a dish of eel stewed in the finest butter. After resting for half an hour on the polder dike, the board was back home in time for milking.

After Borst's death, the dilapidated mill was in need of major restoration. In 2008, a new screw pump was built next to the mill, in the style of a Zaan house. The mill was then completely restored and returned to its original Zaan style. Unfortunately, the expansion of Krommenie's buildings from the south has greatly reduced the wind catch in recent decades, but the mill can still grind.

Extra

Polder mill De Woudaap is inhabited and cannot be visited.

Image and sound of a calling little bittern in the reeds:

The Woudaap is a photogenic stop on the Krommenieër-Woudpolder route(North Holland Walking Network).

Cycling along the Woudaap is also a great option: a beautiful route is the Jubilee Cycle Route(Laag Holland).

Another beautiful route is the Crommenije and Stelling van Amsterdam cycling route (Oer-IJ).

The preservation of the mill is made possible in part by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and the province of North Holland.