Lonjé Molen, Bolsward
Lonjé Molen, also called Tadema's Molen, is a historic drainage windmill in Bolsward, Friesland, Netherlands. It stands at Oude Rijksweg 6 and was built in 1824.
The mill is a three-storey smock mill on a single-storey brick base. It is an eight-sided “achtkante grondzeiler,” which means the sails reach almost to the ground and there is no hard-to-reach stage. It is thatched on the smock and cap and is winded by a tailpole and winch.
There are four Dekkerised sails with leading edges, spanning 18.72 metres. The sails sit on a cast-iron windshaft made in 1897. The mechanism includes a brake wheel with 47 teeth driving a wallower with 28 teeth on the upright shaft; the crown wheel has 35 teeth and drives the Archimedes screw via a 31-tooth gear. The Archimedes screw has a 532 mm axle, is 1.43 m in diameter, and is inclined 22°. One full turn lifts about 907 litres of water.
The mill is a Rijksmonument (number 9861). It has been restored several times: sails renewed in 1959, an electric motor added in 1967 (so it could still run with or without wind), restored in 1970–71, and major work by Bouwbedrijf Hiemstra in the early 2000s. It officially reopened on 18 September 2002 by the mayor of Bolsward. Lonjé Molen is open to visitors by appointment.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:08 (CET).