Driemond and the Gaaspermolen on the Gaasp

The deeper story

Driemond lies on the south-eastern edge of Amsterdam, where the Gaasp, Gein and Smal Weesp meet. This junction of waterways determined the development of the place. For centuries, rivers and canals were the principal routes through the low-lying land. Traffic, buildings and activity developed near bridges, landing places and confluences.

The surrounding landscape consisted of low peatland that required continuous drainage. Ditches carried away rainwater and seepage, while dikes kept the higher outer water at a distance. Settlement therefore concentrated along quays, dikes and bridges. The point where the waterways met was not only practical, but also a recognisable node within an otherwise open landscape.

The village was long known as Geinbrug, after the bridge across the Gein. The name Driemond, however, was already in use. It belonged to a country estate beside the three waterways and probably referred to their meeting. Driemond became the official village name during the twentieth century. The memory of a vanished estate thus remained present in the name of the entire village.

The Driemond country estate was created during the seventeenth century for the Amsterdam cloth merchant Gerbrand Anslo. Architect Philips Vingboons, known for his classical canal houses and country residences, was commissioned to design the house. A waterside location was both practical and representative. The estate was easily accessible by boat and offered views, tranquillity and distance from the crowded city.

Driemond formed part of a wider development in which wealthy Amsterdam residents built country retreats along rivers, towpaths and dikes. Wealth earned through trade and industry became visible in houses, gardens, avenues and water features. Country life offered leisure, but remained closely connected with the city. Food, staff, building materials and guests often arrived by water.

The estate later passed to other owners and developed into an extensive complex with gardens, outbuildings, ponds and fountains. The house disappeared during the nineteenth century. Hardly anything of its formal gardens remains visible above ground either. Its name survived, however, and was eventually transferred to the surrounding settlement. The village therefore still preserves the memory of a building that has itself vanished.

The attractive country life around Driemond was possible only because the surrounding land was continuously drained. Much of the soil consists of peat and lies below the level of the Gaasp and other waterways. Rainwater and seepage collected in ditches and had to be discharged into higher outer water. Without dikes, mills and later pumping stations, the land would have become too wet for farming, roads and settlement.

The Gaaspermolen on the Lange Stammerdijk was built in 1707 to drain the Gemeenschapspolder. The mill stands directly beside the Gaasp, on the boundary between the low polder and the higher outer water. Wind power lifted water from the drainage channels and discharged it into the river. In this way, the mill kept a large area of land behind it usable.

The Gaaspermolen originally operated with a scoop wheel. In 1892, this was replaced by an Archimedean screw, which could move water more efficiently and over a greater difference in height. The turning sails drove the screw through shafts and gears. The mill was therefore not a decorative building, but a machine that directly influenced the water level of the polder.

From 1926, a diesel pumping station took over much of the drainage. Water management became less dependent on wind and pumping could be carried out more quickly and regularly. The mill lost part of its daily function, but remained part of the water system. After restoration, it returned to working order in 2003 and the historic technology could once again operate in practice.

The different layers can be seen clearly from the Lange Stammerdijk. On one side lies the Gaasp as higher outer water. On the other, the lower polder extends behind the dike. The mill stands precisely between these two levels. Notice the drainage ditches in the land behind it as well: they carry water towards the point where it must eventually be lifted.

Driemond therefore preserves two very different consequences of its location beside the water. The meeting of the Gaasp, Gein and Smal Weesp attracted traffic, settlement and a wealthy country estate. The low land behind the dikes meanwhile required continuous pumping and drainage. The estate disappeared, but its name remained. The Gaaspermolen still stands and reveals the daily and technical work needed to keep this waterscape habitable.