Kruisekemolen

Kruisekemolen is a wooden post mill standing along Kruisekestraat in Wervik, right on the edge of the village of Kruiseke, in the West Flanders province of Belgium. Also known as Ma Campagne-Molen or Claeys' Mill, it stands today as one of the last living witnesses to the town's once-thriving milling industry.

How far back does this mill site go?

The corner where Kruisekestraat meets Oude Mesenweg and Klijtbosstraat was already marked as a milling site in 1560, according to Jacob van Deventer's figurative map of Wervik. That first mill did not last: it was destroyed around 1580 during the religious troubles that swept through the Low Countries in that period. A new wooden windmill went up after 1600, but it too had vanished from the site by the close of the 17th century.

What sparked the golden age of Wervik's mills?

Permission to build yet another wooden mill on the spot was granted on October 22, 1735, by the Austrian Emperor Charles VI, since Wervik then lay within the Austrian Netherlands. That approval set the stage for the town's real milling boom. The peak came in the first half of the 19th century: a plan drawn up in 1845 recorded no fewer than fourteen windmills operating across Wervik at once. Kruisekemolen was among them, grinding grain into flour for the surrounding farms.

What happened to it during the First World War?

Wervik sat close to the front line in West Flanders and paid a heavy price during the Great War. In October 1914, Kruisekemolen was destroyed by German forces. The mill's owners, the Derrevaux-Van Elslande family, later received war reparations. Rather than rebuild from scratch on the same spot, they used the money to buy an existing windmill, the Hondvleesmolen, and had it moved from the village of Lauwe to Wervik.

Who gave the mill its current form?

By 1922 the mill had passed into the hands of the Claeys family, who had it reconstructed on the site in Wervik — the origin of one of its alternate names, Claeys' Mill. For most of the 20th century it remained in private hands, until November 13, 1979, when the town of Wervik became the owner of the mill itself, the adjoining miller's house, and the surrounding land. Municipal ownership paved the way for a full-scale restoration.

How was it restored?

The restoration plan was drawn up by engineer-architect Walter Snauwaert. Work ran from 1993 to 1997, with the mill's structure rebuilt by Molenbouw Peel, a specialist milling firm based in Gistel with extensive experience restoring historic windmills across Flanders. Thanks to this project, Kruisekemolen regained full working order and once again became a recognizable landmark along the road connecting Wervik with Kruiseke.

Why is it worth a visit?

Kruisekemolen is more than a piece of restored machinery — it is a living fragment of Wervik's local identity, a town that once counted more than a dozen active windmills at its milling peak. Walking or cycling along Kruisekestraat brings you right beneath its sails, and the mill's position on the boundary between the town and rural Kruiseke offers a striking contrast between historic architecture and the open farmland of West Flanders.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kruisekemolen still operational? Following its 1993–1997 restoration, the mill is in good technical condition as a heritage structure maintained by the town of Wervik.

Where do its alternate names come from? Ma Campagne-Molen refers to the site's traditional name, while Claeys' Mill recalls the Claeys family, who had the mill rebuilt after 1922.

Why was the mill destroyed and rebuilt so many times? Wooden windmill structures were vulnerable to wartime destruction and fire, so many historic mills in the region, including this one, were reconstructed more than once over the centuries.