Mill Law

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Basic data
Title: Law on the construction, commissioning, relocation, expansion and financing of
the closure of mills
Short title: Mill Law
Type: Federal law
Scope: Federal Republic of Germany
Legal matter: Commercial administrative law
References : 7841-2 a. F.
Original version from: June 27, 1957
( BGBl. I p. 664 )
Entry into force on: 5th July 1957
New announcement from: September 1, 1965
( BGBl. I p. 1057 )
Last change by: Art. 16 G of June 23, 1970
( Federal Law Gazette I p. 805, 813 )
Effective date of the
last change:
June 26, 1970
(Art. 34 para. 1 G of June 23, 1970)
Expiry: January 1, 1972
(Art. 1 G of August 26, 1969,
Federal Law Gazette I p. 1405 )
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The Mill Act , actually a law on the construction, commissioning, relocation, expansion and financing of the closure of mills , was passed in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957 and primarily concerned small and medium-sized mills . According to Section 1 (1) of the Act, the construction of mills and the expansion of their daily output were subject to approval. The only exception was for small mills with a daily output of one ton. The construction of new mills has been severely restricted by law since 1955.

After that, the miller and the mill owner received a state bonus on the condition that they would no longer operate the disused mill for thirty years. The compensation depended on the capacity of the technical equipment and their economic importance. For a ton of daily output, an average of DM 9,000 was paid in severance payments. This compensation was intended to create the possibility of building up other income opportunities, such as expanding agriculture, setting up a restaurant or hotel business and the like. By October 1960, all built-in milling machines and devices had to be removed, with the exception of the existing turbines .

The Milling Act was initially due to expire on December 31, 1960, but was subsequently extended several times and only replaced on January 1, 1972 by the Act on Final Measures to Create an Efficient Structure of the Milling Industry (Mill Structure Act) .

Following a specific review of norms, the law was declared constitutional in a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court on December 18, 1968. The law should thereafter with the pharmacy judgment developed three-stage theory of occupational freedom ( Art. 12 GG be compatible). It is indeed an objective admission requirement that it is justified with the purpose of the law. This consists in the creation of stable market conditions as a prerequisite for an even supply of bread and flour to the population even in times of crisis. This is a particularly important common good and the interference is therefore justified. The Mill Structure Act was also considered constitutional.

consequences

The consequences of the mill law may be made clear by the following figures: According to censuses by the Prussian government, there were 18,362 windmills and 54,529 water mills in the German Empire in 1895 . 97% of the windmills were grain mills. Although the number of mills fell through rationalization and shutdowns in the first half of the 20th century, the sharpest decline in the numbers only took place after the Milling Act came into force, as a look at the individual federal states shows. In the 2011/2012 financial year, according to official statistics, there were only 261 mills in Germany that had more than 500 t of annual grinding.

Baden-Württemberg

Above all, small farmer's mills in the Black Forest that are used in remote farms for self-sufficiency have remained here. One of the oldest and now also the largest mills is the Schapfenmühle , which has existed since 1452. With today's technology, it has a grinding capacity of around 100 tons in 24 hours and markets its products throughout Germany and internationally.

Bavaria

In Bavaria the number of flour mills fell from 4,440 in 1946 to around 400 mills in 1996. However, there are still numerous traditional family businesses.

Berlin / Brandenburg

One of the largest mills is operated by Oderland Mühlenwerke . Around 900 mill locations are known. There are now opportunities in the field of renewable energies for decommissioned mills, e.g. B. in the use of hydropower.

Bremen

According to its own information, Rolandmühle in Bremen processes 350,000 tons of grain annually into flour products for trade and industry. The few remaining windmills are under monument protection and are partly functional.

Hesse

In 1951 there were 1504 grain mills in Hessen, each with an output of more than 250 tons per year. In 1995 only 28 mills were still operated commercially. One of the large mills is the castle mill between Ober-Ramstadt and Nieder-Modau with a grinding capacity of up to 96 tons per day, which supplies around 200 bakeries and confectioners in the catchment area.

Individual evidence

  1. BGBl. I p. 277
  2. Az. 1 BvL 5/64 , BVerfGE 25, 1
  3. Judgment of March 19, 1975, Az. 1 BvL 20, 21, 22, 23, 24/73 , BVerfGE 39, 210
  4. http://www.muehlen-dgm-ev.de/Baden-W/baden.php
  5. http://www.muehlen-dgm-ev.de/Bayern/bayern.php
  6. http://www.muehlen-dgm-ev.de/Hessen/hessen.php
  7. http://www.schloss-korn.de/