Mill De Koker - Wormer

The history of De Koker goes way back: the first mention dates back to the year 1592. There is a special story behind this mill. It was here that the flour was ground for the ship's rusks eaten on board the ships of the VOC and WIC. Ship's rusks were very dry and therefore kept for a long time. This was especially useful on long sea expeditions, with often harsh conditions on board. Ship's rusk was also cheap and easy to produce: it only required flour, water and salt. Fun fact: until the end of the 19th century, people sailed into the mill by boat to load and unload.

In 1840, De Koker burned down. It was rebuilt as a tilting mill, but it was not spared either: in 1866 it was struck by lightning. Again it was rebuilt, this time with an upper miller from Graft, after which it operated until 1928. After standing idle for 20 years, the Zaansche Molen took over De Koker and it received a major restoration. De Koker is one of the last remaining active windmills in Wormer. It is also the only surviving flour mill that made the flour for ships' rusks.