Haunted mills

Meerhout has a rich mill heritage. Three historic mills have been fed on wind and water for centuries. According to tradition, Robrecht, Count of Haspengouw, donated the Mareholt estate with a watermill to the abbey of Sint-Truiden in 741. This mill was further upstream.

In 1324 a new water mill appeared on this spot. The current buildings date from 1678.

The mill had a multifaceted life. He milled grain, pressed oil, washed clothes, dragged diamonds, made electricity, and quenched the thirsty. Now he receives visitors as a centre for nature park Grote Netewoud.

Shortly after the First World War, it served as a power station. The miller at the time blinked the electricity on and off a few times as a warning to local residents that he was going to close the mill. It earned him the nickname Peer Plimp.

There were often ghost stories around mills. This mill escaped, but in the parish of Zittaart, the owner of an octagonal coffee pot mill complained about a hellish noise in his barn. According to the residents, it was a ghost who came to bully him because he weighed his bags of grain far too sharply. The ghost got the name 'Sharply Measured'. The local hiking association keeps this legend alive with an annual walking tour.

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