Fire quickly demolishes historic village windmill

Windlust lost in minutes

BURUM, the Netherlands - A 225-year-old windmill in the northern Dutch town of Burum, in the province of Friesland, has burned to the ground. The fire devoured the grain mill, called Windlust (freely translated as Appetite for wind), in minutes.

The first flames were spotted on the crown of the windmill shortly after 10:30 pm on a Sunday evening. By 11:00 pm, the heritage building had completely collapsed. The firefighters allowed the fire to burn out on its own.

The historic mill was still operational. Four volunteers manned Windlust from time to time. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the fire appear at the top of the mill.

It is not the first time that Burum lost a windmill to fire. The 1711 predecessor was destroyed in 1785. It is not known what happened to the windmill that graced the village in 1578 when it was described in a document.

A Kollumerland municipal owned heritage building, Windlust was last restored in 2000. It also underwent restorations in 1946, 1957, 1969 and 1975.