The venberg Watermill

The Venberg Water Mill is located below Valkenswaard on the banks of the Dommel river. Back in
the day, this mill was used to crush oil seeds, ground bark and mill grains, and it is one of the oldest
surviving mills of the Netherlands.
PLEASE NOTE: The hospitality businesses at the Venberg Water Mill have been closed since November
2022.
The Venberg Water Mill was a thirlage mill, meaning that all inhabitants of the surrounding areas
were obliged to mill their grain there. The history of the mill goes back about a thousand years, and it
is mentioned as early as 1227 in a document of Duke Henry I of Brabant. In the centuries that
followed, the mill changed hands quite regularly. Then in 1740 the mill and associated lands were
sold publicly. At the time the Venberg Farm was one of the area's most prosperous farms.
Restoration
Several families of millers operated the mill until the nineteenth century. In the early 1970s, the mill
was in danger of subsiding. Between 1973 and 1977, the water mill was completely restored to its
authentic style from the end of the nineteenth century.
From 1954 onwards, hospitality services were introduced in the form of a café, restaurant, guest
house and outdoor seating area. Nowadays it serves as a beer garden in summer months and a café
in winter.
Starting point
The Venberg Water Mill is located near the De Malpie nature gateway, a beautiful nature reserve

that welcomes hikers and cyclists, as well as canoeists that wish to explore the banks of the Dommel
river from the water.