The Right of Wind, an ancient Dutch law dating back to the twelfth century, is the reason a 140‑year‑old windmill had to be lifted. To reconstruct its foundation, the monument was temporarily moved to the opposite side of the street. Daams’ Molen (Daams’ Mill), the iconic landmark of the city Vaassen in the Netherlands, risked losing access to sufficient wind due to the construction of a new shopping center.

According to the old wind law, a windmill must have an unobstructed wind zone of 375 meters to operate effectively. The mill’s owner invoked this law to ensure the monument would retain its historic right to catch enough wind.

Bresser temporarily relocated the 165‑ton mill 28 meters across the street. At the original location, a new foundation was constructed. Six weeks later, Bresser moved the mill back onto the new foundation. The mill was then jacked up 5 meters, allowing the placement of prefabricated concrete segments beneath it. Once the segments were in position, the jacking system lowered the mill onto its final elevated height atop the new concrete base.