Heimolen, Aartselaar

Heimolen is a historic post mill standing in the hamlet of Heiken, within the Belgian municipality of Aartselaar in Antwerp province. The mill remains technically operational and was historically used for grinding grain.

When was Heimolen built?

The oldest surviving inscription, carved into the middle beam on the catching side — between the flour storage and the millstone storage — bears the date 1801, which is generally taken as the year of construction. The mill was raised on a plot known as Gommars veldeke, also called Hof van Brienen, and it took its name from the nearby hamlet of Heiken. Interestingly, the mill is not mentioned in written records until 1816, a gap that was fairly common for working rural structures of the period, which were often documented well after they were actually built and put into use.

Why did the construction spark a dispute?

The new mill did not appear without controversy. Before it was even built, on 10 September 1793, Cornelius Spruyt, the miller running the nearby Cleydaelmolen, formally objected to plans for a competing mill on Aartselaar's territory. He argued that the new structure would financially ruin him, his wife, and his children, and would damage the business of other mills already operating in the area. This dispute reflects how tightly milling rights were controlled at the time — permission to build a mill and to draw on the wind was a regulated privilege, and new ventures were seen as a direct threat to established millers. The situation shifted once French rule was established in the region: the milling monopoly and wind rights were abolished, opening the way for a broader range of owners to establish mills, within certain new regulations.

What damage has the mill survived?

Heimolen's history includes two major periods of destruction and rebuilding. The first blow came in 1914, during the German invasion of Belgium at the start of the First World War, when the mill sustained significant damage. The second came in the summer of 1957, when lightning struck the sails. Such events posed a real danger to wooden windmill structures, whose moving parts are directly exposed to the elements and are especially vulnerable during storms.

Who saved the mill, and what does it look like today?

Heimolen's fortunes turned in 1962, when the municipality of Aartselaar purchased the mill outright. This brought the structure under local government stewardship, paving the way for systematic upkeep. A pivotal moment came in 1978, when millwright Rik Caers, together with his son Pol, carried out a thorough restoration, returning the mill to working condition and restoring its historic appearance. Work of this kind demands specialist carpentry skills, since a post mill's mechanism relies on a wooden support frame that must be fitted with great precision.

What challenges does Heimolen face today?

As Aartselaar has grown, housing has increasingly encroached on the area around the mill. Homes built closer and closer to the structure limit the wind reaching it from various directions, making it harder for the mill to function properly as an active windmill. This issue has fuelled discussion about possibly relocating the mill to a site with better wind conditions. Between 2024 and 2026, the mill remains closed to visitors due to urgent renovation works aimed at securing its technical condition for decades to come.

Frequently asked questions

Can visitors tour Heimolen? Between 2024 and 2026, the mill is closed to the public because of ongoing renovation work.

What type of mill is Heimolen? It is a post mill, a classic windmill design found across Belgium and the Netherlands, in which the entire upper body of the mill rotates around a central post.

Why is relocating the mill being discussed? Dense housing around Heiken now blocks wind from reaching the sails from several directions, hampering the mill's operation.