Houtzaagmolen de Rat
IJlst
Visit wind powered sawmill ‘De Rat’ and step back in time three hundred years!
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Visit wind powered sawmill ‘De Rat’ and step back in time three hundred years!
‘De Rat’ is one of the few wind-driven sawmills still in full production in the Netherlands. Just as it was three hundred years ago, oards and beams are sawn daily from the logs. As you enter ‘De Rat’, you are greeted by the smell of freshly sawn timber. Fastened to three carriers the logs are transported slowly but steadily through the blades.
Standing on the sawing floor it is impressive to see the power of the wind, harnessed to drive the blades, up to thirteen in a row, turn the log into the widths required by the sawyer. The sawyer scans the sky, keeping an eye on the sails of the mill, and making adjustments as needed. A little more sail, wind it slightly into the wind, and so he trims his mill just as a sailor at sea would.
He will be delighted to explain all of this to you, because it is his passion as well as his profession.
Here you will find Houtzaagmolen de Rat
Sneekerpad 188651 NE IJlst Plan your route
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