Dammühle

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Former barn with a mill pond

The Dammühle is a historic, listed watermill near Marburg an der Lahn . The property, which today includes a total of 25 hectares of forest, meadow and arable land, has been family-owned for more than 300 years. The original mill and agricultural business was increasingly run as a country inn at the end of the 19th century and has since developed from an initially gastronomic part-time business to a popular excursion destination in the Central Hesse region. Today Dammühle is a successful training company and employer for 45 permanent employees (as of May 2014). In the past few years, the numerous outbuildings have been gradually and lavishly restored and expanded into a modern hotel and conference facility. In addition, the entire complex is a natural and cultural asset that is worth protecting in accordance with Section 2 (1) of the Hessian Monument Protection Act (HDSchG).

Geographical location

The Dammühle is around 250 meters above sea ​​level on an area of ​​around 2 hectares, which borders on Kreisstraße 70 one kilometer southwest of the Wehrshausen district . It is located between the heights of the Peterswald in the north and the parcel of Große Lummersbach in the south in a meadow and tree-rich valley on the Wehrshäuserbach , which flows into the Elnhauser water south of the Allersberg . From a natural point of view, the Dammühle grounds belong to the Damshausen Kuppen , a ridge of the Gladenbacher Bergland at the transition to the Elnhausen-Michelbacher Senke .

history

Old beer garden in front of the main building

Settlements in the area around today's Dammühle already existed about 50,000 years ago during the Middle Paleolithic , which is proven by finds of scrapers and other tools. The dam mill was first mentioned in writing in 1380, but it was destroyed in the Star Wars . It was not until 1521 that Peter Moller from Wehrshausen received permission to rebuild and operate the mill a few hundred meters upstream from its original location. From 1710, the name of the Becker family, the current owners and operators, was listed in the land register. In the course of time, new buildings were added and the company expanded to include stables and a bakery.

In addition to the milling operations, agriculture played a central role. At that time Dammühle had an area of ​​22 acres of land, including 10 acres of arable land. In a so-called "warehouse, piece and tax book", 320 quintals of grist were listed as annual yield . Of this, 6 quintals of barley were processed into pearl barley and 18 quintals into oats . At that time, around 4–5% of the grain delivered was withheld as meal wages , which is still known today as moltern . So the income of the mill amounted to about 12 quintals of grain and 6 talers .

The residents of the Dammühle were also used for forced labor, which had to be performed in the form of manual and clamping services at the Marburg Castle .

Around 1700 further church land was leased, which later became the property of Dammühle. With the introduction of an improved three-field economy at the beginning of the 19th century, however, the agricultural capacities were quickly exhausted and the production limits of the small customer mills were reached. Alternative sources of income were considered and around 1820 a bar began to be established, which was also popular beyond the municipal boundaries of the neighboring town of Wehrshausen, as evidenced by receipts for the auxiliary tax that was customary at the time , comparable to today's beverage tax .

In the following time, the Dammühle developed into a popular local recreation destination and excursion destination for the citizens of Marburg, especially the students. In particular, the striking connections valued the seclusion of the rural inn, in order to keep their sharp scales, which were still forbidden at the time, into the 1950s. At the same time, there was always a shortage of water, which significantly impaired the mill operation and accordingly reduced the yield. This ultimately led to a consistent expansion of gastronomic activities, as the need for rooms and catering options also increased steadily at that time due to the student connections and patriotic movements . Finally, the mill was stopped in favor of the catering trade.

Development and use

Old - and since 1997 functional - mill wheel

In 1967 new developments were pending. An additional room was added to the dining room, and the hotel was also expanded by 13 rooms with an extension to the old barn. The farm, now consisting of pig and a Ammenkuhhaltung of Angus cattle , was set between 1987 and 1989. With the handover of the company to the next generation in the 1990s, the course was set for extensive expansion and the consistent use of the half-timbered buildings and historical substance. In the course of this, the elaborate restoration of the old mill wheel took place in 1997 . Between 1998 and 2016, extensions and renovations in the hotel and catering sector brought further qualitative and capacitive improvements. In addition, a non-family member was appointed to the company's management for the first time. In 2015, a chapel was built on the property in which church weddings can be performed. In spring 2016, the restaurant in the main building was expanded to include a winter garden with 50 seats.

In addition to the infrastructural developments, attention was paid to the status as a local recreation area. In the meantime, the large meadow in front of the main building was used as a take-off and landing area for hot air balloons . In the immediate vicinity is the climbing forest Marburg , a high rope climbing park . In addition, the Lahn-Dill-Bergland-Path and a nature trail run directly over the Dammühle site . Comprehensive protective measures for people, the environment, the air and the landscape, including the preservation of cultural heritage and biological diversity, are explicitly identified and regularly checked by local authorities. In this connection, since the spring of 2019 with a total of 120 plants red wine ( Rondo ) and white wine ( Solaris ) to about 300 square meters, a separate Weinberg applied.

Sources and web links

Dammühle vineyard
Commons : Dammühle Marburg  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Association of German Chefs eV ( Memento from May 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b University town of Marburg: Environmental report on the development plan No. 23/4 "Dammühle" ( Memento from May 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ "PETERSWALD". Hessian field names. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  4. ↑ Water structure quality information system (GESIS), Hessen
  5. ^ Rudolf Grenz: The prehistory and early history of Marburg an der Lahn. In: Erhart Dettmering, Rudolf Grenz (Hrsg.): Marburg history, review of the city's history in individual contributions. Magistrat der Stadt Marburg, Marburg 1982, ISBN 3-9800490-0-0 .
  6. ↑ a b History of the Dammühle - official website ( Memento from February 15, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ^ Rhenish dictionary online
  8. ↑ Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg - From the "warehouse, piece and tax book" of the Kurhessisches Cadastre
  9. ↑ Barbara Goerlich: Hessian women taverns . Verlag Walter Hädecke, 2013, p. 147 ff. ISBN 978-3-7750-0648-4
  10. ^ Heinz-Werner Kubitza: History of the Evangelical Student Community of Marburg . Tectum Verlag DE, 1992. p. 184. ISBN 978-3929019001
  11. ↑ The history of the Marburg Burschenschaft Alemannia ( Memento of the original from May 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.alemannia-marburg.de
  12. ^ Website of the Dammühle - New Restaurant was completed in March 2016
  13. ↑ Imprint of the official website ( Memento from August 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ↑ Climbing parks in Hessen ( Memento of the original from May 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kletterparks.info
  15. ↑ ERCA - high ropes course climbing forest project
  16. ↑ Lahn-Dill-Bergland-Path
  17. ↑ nature information path Dammühle in Marburg

Coordinates: 50 ° 48 ′ 16.3 "  N , 8 ° 42 ′ 52.9"  E