De nieuwe Papegaai, Brugge

De Nieuwe Papegaai is a wooden windmill standing on the eastern edge of historic Bruges, atop the old city ramparts known as the Kruisvest (Vesten). Overlooking the main canal that encircles the old town, it is one of four surviving windmills that still shape the skyline of this part of the city.

Why is there a windmill here at all?

The spot where De Nieuwe Papegaai now stands has a much longer history than the current structure itself. Windmills have occupied this stretch of the city walls since at least the late 14th century — a wooden oil mill called "De Papegaai" was already mentioned in a donation charter from 1395. For centuries this location remained part of the city's industrial fringe, where oil-bearing seeds were pressed into oil.

In 1827 the wooden mill was replaced by a stone-built oil mill named "D'hoope". That structure lasted until December 1892, when it was torn down, leaving the site without a windmill for decades.

Where did the current mill come from?

The structure visible today has an entirely different geographic origin. It was built in 1790 in the village of Beveren-aan-de-IJzer as a wooden oil mill, initially bearing the name "Hoge Seinemolen". For well over a century it operated in a completely different part of Flanders, far from Bruges.

That changed in 1969, when the city of Bruges decided to purchase the mill in order to restore the historic windmill presence along the Kruisvest, a site that had hosted mills for centuries before the last one disappeared at the end of the 19th century. The following year, in 1970, the mill was carefully dismantled and then transported on rafts along the canals of Bruges to its new location on the city ramparts. There it was rebuilt on the exact spot once occupied by the earlier "De Papegaai" mill.

Where does the name "Nieuwe Papegaai" come from?

The name directly references the history of the site: since the rebuilt windmill occupies precisely the same location where "De Papegaai" had stood from 1395 (and later its successor "D'hoope"), the newly reconstructed mill was named "De Nieuwe Papegaai" — literally "The New Parrot". It is a way of honoring the centuries-long milling tradition tied to this particular spot, even though the physical structure itself was brought in from an entirely different town.

What can you see today?

De Nieuwe Papegaai is the third of four historic windmills lined up along the Vesten, on the eastern edge of Bruges' historic centre. Standing on top of the former defensive walls, the mill towers over the main canal encircling the city and is one of the most recognizable landmarks of this part of Bruges, popular with walkers and cyclists following the route along the ramparts.

Frequently asked questions

Is De Nieuwe Papegaai the original windmill from this location? Not exactly — the current structure dates from 1790 and was originally built in Beveren-aan-de-IJzer, from where it was relocated to Bruges in 1970 and rebuilt on the site of earlier mills.

How many windmills stand along the Bruges city walls? De Nieuwe Papegaai is the third of four historic windmills preserved along the Vesten on the eastern edge of the old town.

Where does the mill's name come from? It refers to an earlier mill called "De Papegaai", which stood on the same spot from at least 1395 until it was replaced by a stone mill in the 19th century, which itself disappeared in 1892.

How did the mill end up at its current location? In 1970 it was dismantled in Beveren-aan-de-IJzer, floated on rafts along the canals of Bruges, and rebuilt on top of the city ramparts.