Molen De Gooyer

A mill you can't climb

De Gooyer is the tallest wooden windmill in the Netherlands. It stands on the Funenkade, on the eastern side of the old centre, between the Nieuwe Vaart and the Singelgracht. It is a stellingmolen, a mill with a raised gallery, and it belongs to Stadsherstel Amsterdam. You can't go inside. This is a place to stand, look up and take a photo.

It works well as a short stop. The mill rises over a quiet stretch of water with plenty of sky around it, which is exactly why mills were built at the edge of town.

How it came to be here

The name has two explanations. Some say the mill is so tall it looks out over Het Gooi. Other sources, from 1603 and 1608, say it comes from two former owners who came from the Gooiland region. The second story has the older paper trail.

This is not where the mill started. A mill stood on an earlier site in the 16th century. After destruction and a few moves, it was rebuilt in 1725 where the Oranje-Nassau barracks stand today. In 1814 it moved for the last time, to the Funenkade. There it was set on the stone base of a watermill that had been pulled down in 1812.

The edge of town was the right place. Between the 17th and the late 19th century, a large group of corn mills stood on the bastions of the outer city moat, catching the wind. Around 1900 the last of them were demolished, except this one.

Rescue, war and a runaway storm

By the 1920s the mill had fallen into disrepair. In 1928 the city of Amsterdam bought it for 3,200 guilders and restored it. During the Second World War, with electricity in short supply, it worked as a corn mill for private people in the city.

The 1928 restoration gave it more efficient, modern sails. On 13 November 1972 a storm showed their weakness. The sails began to turn on their own and the mill ran away with itself. The upper shaft snapped and the blades fell into the Nieuwe Vaart, the water right beside the mill. In 1976 a new shaft was cast at the nearby Stork works, and the original Old Dutch type of sails went back on.

What to look for

Start with the shape. Two wooden octagons are stacked one on top of the other, and they stand on a stone base. That base is the old watermill foundation from before 1812.

Then walk to the water's edge. The Nieuwe Vaart runs right beside the mill, and it is closer than you expect. This is where the blades landed in 1972.

Now look at the building next door. It is the former municipal bathhouse from 1911, at Funenkade 7. Many people assume it belongs with the mill. It doesn't. The two share no history and no architecture. The mill does nothing for the brewery inside, apart from appearing on its labels.