Ter Biestmolen

The Terbiestmolen is a watermill on the Zwalmbeek in the Zwalm valley in Nederzwalm, a village in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The watermill is also known as the Simoensmolen.

Walking along the Zwalmbeek
A lovely spot to stretch your legs after the first stage. There is a large car park on the other side of the Zwalmbeek. From here you can walk upstream along a path beside the Zwalmbeek. Downstream lies the Boeketje-Vlaanderen footpath, between the Terbieststraat and the Hoogstraat, following the Peerdestokbeek and the Zwalmbeek. On the way you pass the point where the Peerdestokbeek flows into the Zwalmbeek.

The earliest record dates from 1063, when the mill is said to have belonged to the abbey of Ename. It originally served for milling grain and for pressing oil from linseed, turnip seed and rapeseed. In 1883 the new owner had it rebuilt and enlarged. During the First World War the German occupiers installed a generator in the mill to produce electricity. That generator still stands in the mill's outbuilding.

The mill was in operation until 1970. It was shut down a year after the miller, Gerard Leys, was killed in an accident while greasing the shaft. On 28 July 1983 the mill was listed as a monument. During renovation works in 1987-1988 a tavern and restaurant were installed in the mill.