Molen van Sloten

The ‘Mill of Sloten’ is a draining mill, located in the ancient village of Sloten, just within the Amsterdam city borders and not far from Schiphol Airport.

It is an octagonal thatched oak wood mill, situated alongside to the Haarlemmermeer Ring canal. Together with the ‘Akergemaal’, an electrical water pump, the mill is taking care of the de-watering of Amsterdam West.

The original mill, the Riekermolen dating from 1636, was relocated in 1956 nearby the river Amstel, elsewhere in Amsterdam. However, in1991 Sloten again had its mill. A mill build in 1847 in Amsterdam east, was reconstructed on a stone substructure and platform. The hood, wicks and mortar, the screw of Archimedes, are new.

The Mill of Sloten is one of the few mills in The Netherlands still functioning and open to the public on a daily basis. Inside you can see everything about the technique as well as the history of the villages of Sloten and Old Osdorp.

The famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn, also the son of a miller(!), had a special connection with Sloten. High in the mill on the ‘attic’, is a presentation with several wax characters painted by Rembrandt.