Ghost mill
The Geistermühle is a mill in the Wiesbachtal in the municipality of Flonheim ( Alzey-Worms district , Rhineland-Palatinate ). It has changed hands frequently since 1355, when it was first mentioned in a document. Since 1895 it has been owned by the Zimlich family, who today specialize in viticulture and rent out the grinding room for celebrations.
location
The ghost mill is about 10 km from Alzey and 40 km from Mainz . Embedded in the Rhine-Hessian hill country , it forms the gateway to Rhine-Hessian Switzerland . It is located between the Flonheim district of Uffhofen and Wendelsheim .
history
The ghost mill was first mentioned in a document in 1315 and received its water rights on June 25, 1355 . A copy from the 15th century is in the moated Anholt Castle on the Dutch border. Water rights have been used continuously over the centuries to this day.
Around 1700 the mill changed hands 12 times within 50 years, so that in the nearby town of Flonheim the saying came up: "She already has twelve in her throat, the thirteenth won't be long" . The thirteenth, the Galle family, had emigrated from Switzerland for reasons of faith - they were Mennonites - and settled at the mill in 1734. They were reported to be able, hardworking, and pious. So they were able to build many buildings such as the mill and house (both 1790), the three vaulted cellars (1812), the large barn above it in seven years of construction (1812-1819), and finally the defiant mill, then called Neugeistermühle (as early as 1746) on the Uffhofen Entrance. In 1849 Peter Galle sold his mill to Valentin Trapp, who tried to put the company on a broader footing by means of many innovations. So he built z. B. a bone stomper and experimented with a self-made turbine to increase the hydropower yield. He also built a starch factory , which, however, failed due to the unclean water of the Wiesbach. He also created a hemp grater and set up a bag lift. After his death in 1895, his relatives were not interested in keeping the mill, and so it was auctioned on October 25, 1895.
The buyer was the Zimlich family from Armsheimer Mühle. She bought the property for the then 18-year-old son. The mill has been owned by this family ever since. In 1949 an Ossberg cross- flow turbine was installed instead of the water wheel . In 1960, the mill was shut down during the 3rd mill shutdown, but a generator is still used to generate electricity today. Since then, they have specialized in viticulture, especially since wine has always been cultivated on the slopes of the ghost mill. The oldest wine press in the Oppenheim wine museum comes from the ghost mill. Today the Geistermühle is a winery that supplies customers all over Germany.
literature
- Monument topography Federal Republic of Germany: Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate Volume 20.1: District of Alzey-Worms . Verbandsgemeinde Alzey-Land . Published on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Science, Further Education and Culture by the General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Rhineland-Palatinate Directorate State Monument Preservation. Edited by Michael Huyer and Dieter Krienke. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft : Worms 2013. ISBN 978-3-88462-327-5 ; Pp. 198-200
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 46 ′ 30.5 ″ N , 8 ° 1 ′ 5 ″ E