Mill route

A church tower, winding sandy roads, modest long-gabled farms, and a wind or water mill: this is what a village in the Kempen region looked like for centuries. In the early Middle Ages, the first water mills appeared. They were often owned by the local nobility. The windmill served as a beacon in the landscape. It stood far from the houses, in a place where the sails could catch the wind well. Some mills were made of stone, others of wood. The miller played a crucial role in the village. He ground grain into flour or rapeseed into lard. Industrialization and the increasing mechanization of agriculture put an end to that. Today, the Antwerp Kempen still has dozens of operational mills. During this Mill Route, you cycle past ten special examples. Thanks to kempen.be.