Steam flour mill 'Vrede'

The flour mill at Sluispolderweg 53 in Zaandam, located on the northern bank of the North Sea Canal in the Achtersluispolder, was built in 1917 by C. Kamphuys' Fabrieken. Founded in 1853, the company was the market leader in rice hulling at the time and had close ties with military authorities, who encouraged expansion of milling capacity within the Defence Line of Amsterdam.

The factory, designed by architect S.B. van Sante, was named "Vrede" (Peace) and consisted of three buildings: a boiler house, an engine room, a factory building with a cleaning area, a mill, a warehouse, and a silo building with 50 silos.

The structure was constructed of reinforced concrete with brick facades in the Art Deco/Amsterdam School style.

Flour production took place from 1918 to approximately 1923. After that, the complex served as a storage facility for cocoa beans and flour. In 1945, the building was considered for use as a camp for 1,000 prisoners.

The engine room was demolished in 1992, and the boiler house in 2002. The factory building and silo building have been preserved and have been designated national monuments since 2001. Today, the site is used as a container terminal and silo facility, managed by De Vrede BV.

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Source

• Text: TracesofWar
• Photos: TracesofWar
• stelling-amsterdam.nl