Cultural -historical research of Landscape Management Drenthe, commissioned by the province, has unveiled more than 250 locations of historic windmills. In addition to 58 small mills, traces of Tjaskers were found in about 200 places. These are wooden windmills that were used from 1850 to grind land dry.
These ‘windmills’ played an important role in peat extraction. They stood on a landscaped round with a ditch in it, with a small island on which the Tjasker stood in the middle. Water from the surrounding peat flowed into the ditch, after which the rotating blades turned up the water to a nearby ditch. This created agricultural land.
The research also shows that Tjaskers have been in many more different places than previously thought. The mills are relatively easy to dismantle and were therefore regularly demolished and rebuilt somewhere else. The Tjaskers could not only be found in large peat areas, but also on small private plots and in the heathland landscape. There were many copies in the area around Kloosterveen, according to Landschapsbeheer Drenthe.
From the 1950s, wooden tjaskers were increasingly replaced by steel engine lents, which were more efficient and less vulnerable. Yet Tjaskers sometimes still remain in use, for example in the Grolloërveen, where they help to keep the area wet. This is important because many peat areas suffer from drying out, so that centuries -old peat can be lost.
Landscape management Drenthe hopes to contribute to the concept for the value of Tjaskers with the research. They also hope that the research helps to maintain the remaining Tjasker locations in our province.