The best MTB trails around Staden

Toilets

Contrary to what is stated in the title of this highlight, the Wullepit mill is not a stone mill, but a wooden mill on a stone base.

Although the fame of this place as "Peace Mill" refers to the First World War (a monument value that only acquired its current form in the summer of 2013), the history of the mill goes back to the third quarter of the 18th century. In 1766, a wooden post mill was built here. In 1879, the then owner replaced the wooden mill with the stone tower mill, supplemented a year later with a steam engine (in an outbuilding), so that milling could also take place when there was no wind. The current outbuilding dates from after WWI (1920).

Wooden corn windmill, type of post mill on tower house. It is located on a mill hill. The Wullepit mill owes its name to the miller family Wullepit who operated the mill almost continuously between 1805 and 1949. It has a long history, during which its continued existence was seriously threatened several times in the past half century. The Wullepit mill is the oldest mill in Zarren and was built before 1639. From 1725, the same miller lived at the Linde mill for almost fifty years: Nicolaas Decoodt. All later millers at the Linde mill, up until the 20th century, were relatives of this Nico Decoodt. He was the operator and also the owner of the mill, Nicolaas married three times and had 9 children from these 3 marriages, of whom only four reached adulthood. Three of them would play a role in this miller's story. In 1817, after the death of the last son-in-law and more than 45 years after the death of Nicolaas Decoodt, tenant-co-seller Pieter Wullepit became the owner. During the First World War, the mill was destroyed to such an extent that it was impossible to build a new mill with the rubble. Millers through and through, the Wullepits thought they would not be able to make a living without a mill. While others had the rubble of the destroyed mills cleared away for good, they decided to replace their destroyed mill, especially since their son Arthur, who had returned from the war as a severely mutilated man - he lost a leg. He would have had difficulty doing other work. Through the intervention of Alfred Ronse, a mill expert from Gistel who advocated the re-establishment of windmills after the First World War, an existing post mill was purchased in Zerkegem in 1923. The colossus was transported to Zarren by horse-drawn carriage. Arthur Wullepit, who remained unmarried and was the actual miller, died in 1972. His brother Omer Wullepit was more of a farmer. He was born in Zarren in 1892 and died in February 1980 at the age of 88. The Weekbode wrote on 22 February 1980: "Zarren's last miller has gone with his grain to the Lord". In 1971, the municipality of Zarren acquired the mill for one symbolic franc with the promise to restore it. Political wrangling repeatedly caused the restoration to be postponed. For a while it looked as if the mill would be transferred to the Open Air Museum in Bokrijk, or to the Bruges city walls, and even that its classification as a protected monument would be lifted. It is Wullepitmolen vzw, which - with material support from the municipality - finally carried out the necessary maintenance work in 1991 and campaigned for the Province of West Flanders to purchase the mill from the municipality in 1994. The restoration was finally carried out between 1996 and 2000. Since then, five volunteer millers from the Wullepitmolen vzw have been working the Wullepitmolen at least every 1st Sunday of the month from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. from April to September (also the fourth Sunday if there is sufficient wind) and on special mill days from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. In 2017, the mill was finally transferred back to the municipality of Kortemark. Due to the deteriorated technical condition, a new restoration took place from 2021 to 2023. Source: Molenecho’s

The Vredesmolen (also "Old mill", "Van Couillie's mill" or "Shooted mill") is a former windmill in the Belgian village of Klerken (Houthulst). The former wooden grain and oil mill is located at the highest point of the village (43 meters) and was therefore used as a lookout post by the Germans during the First World War. During the final offensive it was captured by the Allies, but the Germans had already left the mill via an underground passage. The mill is a rare example of a mill ruin and became a protected monument on April 1, 1999. On the same date it also received its official name "Peace Mill". source: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vredesmolen

These singletacks in this neighborhood are never boring! Be careful, just like I said, small resistance is needed in Keuneleute, the gradient increases to just under 10%, the average is 5%. The worst climb is to enter at the south gate and keep to the right. Don't forget to visit the polder forest, closer to Westrozebeke.

Quiet place and beautiful view

Ideally located rest area with a public barbecue