Guillotine mill

The Guillotine mill is an impressive stone grain windmill with seat cap.
The mill was built during the French period in 1798 by order of Jean-Baptiste Platteau, brewer and shopkeeper in Balegem. It is no coincidence that this year is the year of the Boer War, the revolt of the southern Netherlands against the French presence.
The mill served as a grain and oil mill and dominated the area due to its size. He owes his lurid nickname to an accident in 1798. Francis De Groote, on leaving the mill, was hit by one of the winding blades.
The mill remained in operation until after World War II and then fell into disrepair. On March 19, 1975, it became a protected monument. In 1988 the municipality of Oosterzele bought the mill. The country house on the left at the beginning of the Kattenberg is the former home of the miller. The mill is a protected monument.
On the other side of the Molenstraat, on the Kattenberg, ceramics from the 7th century have been found. from a Merovingian cemetery.

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