Touring North Limburg among windmills, nature reserves, and national borders

GrensPark Kempen~Broek lives up to its name: it stretches not only across Belgian North Limburg, between Maaseik and Bocholt, but also across Dutch Central Limburg, in the region between Leudal, Weert, and part of Nederweert. As an added bonus, there is an extra border crossing to Budel in North Brabant. In this border region, MolenNetwerk KempenBroek mapped out the Grensmolenfietsroute (Border Mill Cycle Route).

The area is characterized by beautiful, varied, and unique nature reserves and a wealth of special heritage sites. Not grand heritage sites such as enormous castles or impressive churches and cathedrals, but heritage that has served the region's inhabitants for centuries. Think, for example, of fortifications, chapels, old drinking places for cattle or pits for firefighting water, old roadside crosses, beautiful farmhouses, and long-fronted farms. But it is mainly the many windmills and watermills that occupy a very special place. The Border Mill Route introduces you to nine of these mills. Get on your bike and come and cycle between mills, nature reserves, and national borders.

On your 35-kilometer journey between Molenbeersel, Kessenich, Neeritter, Ittervoort, and Stramproy, you will cross the Belgian-Dutch border several times, often without even noticing. Along the way, you will cycle through beautiful nature reserves that perfectly illustrate the unique character of GrensPark Kempen~Broek. One moment you are riding through a beautiful forest area, a few kilometers further on you are skimming the edges of a marsh or crossing a swamp forest via a wooden bridge. Until suddenly you come face to face with one of the five water mills and four windmills that lie like pearls on a string along your route.

Centuries of history

Each mill on this Border Mill Route is unique and tells a story that sometimes spans hundreds of years. The water mills in particular have an exceptionally long history, which connects them to each other. Each and every one of them has managed to withstand and defy the challenges that threatened their survival. So even now, in 2023, you can still enjoy this special mill heritage and the stories that go with it about the mill and its miller.

When you visit the mill, the volunteer miller or mill guide will be happy to tell you these stories. The ErfgoedApp also ErfgoedApp various stories and anecdotes about each mill. And if the mill gate is closed, you can ErfgoedApp the ErfgoedApp as a key to open it. Don't expect a long-winded technical summary about the mill, but experience a unique and personal mill story. What role did the mill play for the population and the surrounding area? How did people work in production processes that have long since disappeared, such as fulling wool for the cloth industry? The ErfgoedApp the answers to these and many other interesting facts and mill anecdotes.

The miller is the soul of the mill.

The Border Mill Route also introduces you to the millers, who are so important for the future of the mills. In the past, the miller was also the heart and soul of the mill. The history of the Keijers Mill in Molenbeersel is closely linked to the Keijers family. Joannes Keijers built this stone windmill, a mountain or belt mill, in 1869 as the second mill in Molenbeersel, just across the border near Stramproy. In 2015, Joannes Keijers' great-grandson, Theo Keijers, was celebrated as a platinum miller for having worked at the mill for 70 years. Theo Keijers had owned the mill since 1962 and made numerous technical improvements and innovations during his active milling career. He passed away in July 2018 at the age of 86. This close family connection makes the Keijersmolen unique in Belgium: the mill has always remained the property of a single family.

A few kilometers away in Stramproy, Netherlands, two milling families, the Van de Winkel family (Sint-Jan mill) and the Nijs family (De Nijverheid mill), left their mark on their mills in a similar way. At the Sint-Jan mill, the last professional miller of the mill, Lei van de Winkel, is honored with a bronze statue. He resisted the powerful Maes brewing family, owners of the mill, when they wanted to sell it to the emerging Farmers' Union with the intention of demolishing it. Miller Lei van de Winkel went on strike and ultimately prevailed over the brewing family.  As a result, the charming village of Stramproy can still be proud of the oldest authentic wooden post mill, whose history dates back to the^16th century.

Five in a row

In the past, mills could also get in each other's way and be hostile towards each other. There are numerous stories about discord between millers. The disputes often originated from a lack of sufficient water supply to their own mills because the miller of a mill located upstream was damming the water for his mill.

A good example of this is the stretch of Itterbeek between Kessenich (B) and Ittervoort (NL). On a stretch of just a few kilometers, there are no fewer than five water mills close together: the Borchmolen was the uppermost of the five. The location of this mill is still celebrated in the Limburg anthem: 'Waar in het bronsgroen eikenhout' (Where in the bronze-green oak wood). The other mills, located downstream, are the Armenmolen in Neeritter, the Schouwsmolen and the Luyensmolen in Ittervoort, and the Kraekermolen in Thorn, which no longer exists. Between the first and last mills, the drop was only 4.8 meters, so they significantly hindered each other when it came to damming and grinding. Around 1950, all the mills were shut down, but the Borchmolen, Armenmolen, Schouwsmolen, and Luyensmolen still exist. In recent years, the Schouwsmolen has even been lovingly restored by its current private owner and is now running regularly again. At www.molenagenda.com, you can see which mills in the GrensPark are open and can be visited.

Versatile information

Via the ErfgoedApp , MolenNetwerk KempenBoek vzw ErfgoedApp also show you facts and figures about the mills that cannot be shown directly during a visit to the mill. Think, for example, of old historical film footage or old, yellowed, and fragile newspaper clippings.

Also striking are the many animations that give you a clear picture of, for example, the construction or operation of the mill, or the damming of the water in the streams. What does the cap construction of a wooden hexagonal belt mill look like on the inside? The Zorgvlietmill used to be one of the few hexagonal mills in the region, and an impressive animation shows how such a mill was constructed. In short, there is something for everyone.

You can cycle the Grensmolenroute in both directions. Ideal starting points are the Keijersmolen in Molenbeersel and the Uffelse molen in Haler-Uffelse (Leudal). The latter mill is also a great place to rest, with an attractive, leafy mill terrace. Molenbeersel, Stramproy, and Neeritter are three villages where there is also plenty to see, and along the way there are countless spots in the middle of the beautiful GrensPark Kempen~Broek for a break in the heart of nature. You can find more information about the mills in GrensPark Kempen~Broek and the cycling routes and walks mapped out by MolenNetwerk KempenBroek at www.molenfietsen.eu and www.molenlopen.eu.

You ErfgoedApp the Border Mill Route in the ErfgoedApp via Border Mill Route | ErfgoedApp.