Galgenmolen

Galgenmolen is a wooden octagonal windmill of the "bovenkruier" type — a mill whose upper cap rotates to face the wind — now standing in the open-air museum of Bokrijk near Genk, in the Belgian province of Limburg. Despite its museum setting, it is not a replica: it's a genuinely old mill that has been relocated more than once and still works today.

Where the name comes from

The name "Galgenmolen" translates literally as "gallows mill," which sounds ominous, but the origin is straightforward. The mill itself had nothing to do with executions — the name comes from its former neighborhood. When it stood in the village of Schulen, it was built right next to an old gallows site, once used for public sentencing. Locals began referring to the mill by that landmark, and the name has stuck ever since, long after the gallows themselves disappeared.

A mill that kept moving

The story of the Galgenmolen is really a story of repeated relocation. It was originally built around 1800 in the village of Berbroek. By 1833, it had already been dismantled and rolled — quite literally, on wooden rollers — to Schulen, where it picked up the name it still carries. Moving entire windmills was not unusual in old Flanders: the timber frame of a post mill or bovenkruier could be taken apart and reassembled elsewhere, which was often cheaper than building a new mill from scratch.

The final move in this sequence came in 1954, when the mill was transferred to the newly forming Openluchtmuseum Bokrijk, one of Belgium's oldest and largest open-air museums, dedicated to preserving historic rural architecture from across Flanders. Being dismantled and rebuilt at Bokrijk effectively saved the structure from a fate that many similar mills faced elsewhere: gradual decay and disappearance as traditional wind-powered milling declined across the region.

Restoration and current condition

In 1997, the Galgenmolen underwent a thorough restoration that returned it to full working order. Today it's described as "maalvaardig" — capable of actually grinding grain, not just standing as a static exhibit. That distinction matters in the world of historic windmills: many preserved mills keep only their outward shape while the internal milling mechanism has been removed or left non-functional. Here, the mechanism is intact and operational.

Structurally, the mill belongs to the bovenkruier family: its octagonal upper section, carrying the sails, can rotate independently from the fixed base below, allowing the miller to always angle the sails directly into the wind. This design, common across Dutch and Flemish milling tradition, let millers make efficient use of even moderate wind conditions — a meaningful advantage in the flat, breezy terrain typical of the Low Countries.

Visiting the mill

The mill is open seasonally, from April 1 to October 1, aligning with Bokrijk's main visitor season. During these months, visitors can see the structure up close, and on days with favorable wind, watch the sails turning. Bokrijk as a whole offers far more than the windmill alone: it's a sprawling open-air site featuring dozens of relocated historic buildings, farms, workshops, and homesteads that together recreate the texture of rural Flemish life from earlier centuries. The Galgenmolen, as one stop along that route, is a good illustration of how pre-industrial rural technology combined practical function with careful, deliberate construction.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Galgenmolen still operational? Yes — following its 1997 restoration, the mill is capable of grinding grain.

Where does the name come from? From its former location next to a gallows site in the village of Schulen, before it was moved to Bokrijk.

When can it be visited? Seasonally, from April 1 through October 1.

Is it an original structure or a reconstruction? It's an authentic mill dating to around 1800, moved several times over the centuries and rebuilt at its current site in 1954.