Mühlenstrasse Upper Swabia

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Logo of the Mühlenstraße Oberschwaben

The Mühlenstraße Oberschwaben , created in 2005, is a network of mills of tourist interest in Oberschwaben . Around 100 mills can be viewed from the inside or at least from the outside, many are still in operation, and some mill museums have been set up. Some offer the sale of their own products in mill shops, refreshment stops or swimming in their own mill pond. Gerd Graf and Lutz Dietrich Herbst initiated the Mühlenstrasse Oberschwaben . In December 2018, traditional handicraft milling was included in the nationwide register of intangible cultural heritage along with 17 other forms of culture .

Mills

Mühlenwinkel between Iller, Rot and Riss

Alb-Danube district

The water mill at the medieval Gießen der Iller dates from the 16th century, its technical equipment with belt transmissions and mostly wooden machines from the 1950s.

Biberach district

The oil mill in the town center, built at the end of the 18th century, was later converted into a mechanical workshop. This still impresses with its overshot water wheel that protrudes over the eaves .
Mentioned in 1439 as a grinding mill of the Ochsenhausen Benedictine monastery, the grave mill was expanded in the 18th century to include a saw mill and an oil stamping mill .
White tanner mill from 1699 on the Bleicherbach in Biberach an der Riss
Water wheel of the upper mill in Biberach an der Riss
The Angermühle , first mentioned in 1293, is one of the most important Biberach mills with a mill jam and turbine and at the same time the largest craft mill in the Biberach district .
  • White tanner mill in Biberach
The Biberacher whale tanner mill on Bleicherbach in Ehinger Strasse is the oldest (built in 1699) and the last still active fulling mill with several whale hammers from the tannery in Germany.
  • Water wheel Obere Mühle in Biberach-Birkendorf
Near the island in the Riss stands the under-slit mill wheel with an iron wreath and wooden shovels, renovated in 2000. It originally powered a sawmill. The mill was first mentioned in 1350.
Historic mill at the last of several Biberach flood reservoirs from the Middle Ages; Restaurant and beer garden at Ayweiher
  • Mösmühle in Biberach-Stafflangen
The location of the Mösmühle is one of the oldest still active mill locations in Germany. It goes back to a village from the 8th century.
  • Grinder and oil mill in Erolzheim -Bechtenrot
Already mentioned in 1300 as a ban mill for the Lords of Erolzheim, the mill later became the property of the Benedictine monastery in Ochsenhausen . At the end of the 18th century, an additional oil mill was built into the mill. It was shut down in 1984, but electrical energy has been fed into the public grid since 1996 .
  • Herrenmühle in Erolzheim-Dietenbruck
The Herrenmühle was also built in 1492 as a new ban mill for the Lords of Erolzheim. A sawmill also belonged to the grinding mill; both were shut down in 1974. In the past, the water of the medieval Mühlkanal of the Rot drove four undershot water wheels, today electrical energy is generated by a turbine installed since 1909 and a coupled generator .
The mill, presumably from the time the Cistercian convent was founded (1237), today consists of a magnificent mill from 1715 and is located in the secluded area of ​​the monastery.
  • Sawmill in Gutenzell-Hürbel-Zillishausen
The historic sawmill with water wheel on the Rottum is one of the few fully functional restored sawmills of this type in Upper Swabia.
The Lindenmühle was first mentioned in 1454 near the former Linden Castle , on an abundantly protruding spring ground in the Riss Valley, which is dammed up to form a castle pond. The castle of the Lords of Linden was destroyed in the Peasants' War, the mill remained until it was closed.
At the foot of the village church is the mill pond and the mill, first mentioned in 1296, with its historical furnishings and a turbine.
The court mill from 1844 with grinding and tanning for spelled is one of the last two court mills in Upper Swabia that have remained at the original location.
The current building of the monastery mill , built in the middle of the 15th century, dates from 1776. After the mill was shut down in 1928, it was renovated in the mid-1990s.
Below the old monastery mill, figures and devices, some of which are powered by water, are staged according to the model of baroque mechanical games by the Premonstratensian abbots of Weißenau .
  • Grinder spindle wagon in red
The mill on the Ölbach, already mentioned around 1100, was shut down in the mid-1960s. Today it serves as a residential building.
  • Uhl mill in Rot-Haslach
The Uhl mill , mentioned as early as 1423 as the mill of the Premonstratensian Red Monastery, is today a modern company with a capacity of up to 15 tons.
Castle mill in Schwendi
Mentioned as early as 1406 as the grinding mill of the hospital in the imperial city of Ulm, it later came into the possession of the Counts of Oettingen-Spielberg , who had the property rebuilt as a castle mill in 1743 .
In 1529 the mill in Tannheimer Oberdorf was mentioned as the second grinding mill of the Ochsenhausen monastery. The mill building with an old grinder and other historical machines dates from 1914.
Mill shop of the Dinkelmühle Graf (2012)
  • Lower mill in Tannheim
Since 1100 the Mühlbach has been supplying the necessary water power for the former St. Benignus grain mill of the Ochsenhausen monastery and today's Dinkelmühle Graf with its overshot iron wheel with a diameter of seven meters from the 19th century. The "Tannheim Bridge of Sighs" connects the old mill building with a newer art mill building from the 1920s.
The property is decorated with small model water mills and windmills that the miller Gerd Graf built himself; he is one of the two initiators of "Mühlenstrasse Oberschwaben".
The forge, already mentioned in 1586, is powered by two water wheels. The water power comes from the dammed Tobelbach .

District of Unterallgäu

The Buxheimer Weiher is the former grinding and fish pond of the Carthusian monastery of Buxheim .

Mühlenwinkel between the Nau, Blau and Danube

Alb-Danube district

Hammer forge at the Blautopf
Upper mill in Blaubeuren hamlet
Tufa saw at the Laufenmühle in Lauterach
Laufenmühle in Lauterach
Hydroelectric power plant of the former wood pulp factory in Rechtenstein
Hydropower plant in Rottenacker
The hammer mill, built in 1742 as a grinding mill and municipal waterworks, is located at the pent-up source of the Blau , after the Aachtopf the source with the second-highest discharge in Germany.
  • Klausenmühle in Blaubeuren
The sixth generation of family-owned Klausenmühle from the 15th century is a registered cultural monument . It was shut down in 1986 and a mill museum is under construction.
  • Upper mill in Blaubeuren hamlet
Presumably towards the end of the 11th century, the Obere Mühle was built as a water mill for the Benedictine monastery of Blaubeuren with its water wheel on the Aach (to Weiler Ach ).
  • Grain mill in Erbach -Dellmensingen
The former oil mill still has a mill elevator that is over 200 years old.
Mentioned for the first time in 1656, the mill located in the Mühlengrund of the Reutibach was completely modernized in 2000 and today operates with 14 passages and 22 tons of capacity.
As a grinding mill of the Cistercian monastery in Kaisheim , the Easter mill on the Nau was first mentioned in 1297. The technical equipment with the free-standing Zuppinger water wheel , belt transmissions and mostly wooden machines is in the state of 1951.
  • Sixenmühle in Langenau
In 1357 the water mill with its historical technical equipment was first mentioned on the Nau.
The former grinding mill of the Zwiefalten Benedictine monastery in the lower Lautertal was first mentioned in 1105 and rebuilt in its current form in 1889 with magnificent stepped gables.
A town mill is mentioned as early as 1300 for the formerly Upper Austrian town of Munderkingen. and today it is the only river mill on the Upper Swabian Danube that can also be visited inside.
The distinctive round building of a collecting reservoir dates back to 1720. From here a main line leads along the natural slope to the Obermarchtal monastery ; an example of the achievements of the monasteries in the field of technical development of the natural water balance in Upper Swabia.
  • Alfredstal hydropower plant in Obermarchtal
Built at the foot of the Obermarchtal Premonstratensian Abbey, the power station, built in 1903, originally served to generate energy for the cement factory that was once located in the neighboring village of Rechtenstein. Today it supplies 2.5 million kilowatt hours of electrical energy a year .
  • Wood pulp factory in Rechtenstein
The building, built in 1905 instead of the Burgmühle as a factory for pulp for paper production , has a power station that uses the water power of the Danube breakthrough.
The Danube weir was mentioned as early as 1470 for the mill of the Blaubeuren monastery located below. In 1896 the brick building with its 25 meter high chimney was built.
  • Neumühle in Rottenacker
The Rottenacker Neumuehle of 1850 is the last active mill on the Danube Württemberg ground before the Danube in Ulm after Bayern flows into it.
  • Haldenberg wind power plant in Rottenacker
The last functional example of a wind turbine is on the Haldenberg. With his help, a grist mill was operated since 1926.

Biberach district

The water wheel of the monastery mill, which was built around 1470 and shut down in the first half of the 19th century, is still there. The restored former monastery complex is now used as a spiritual center and educational facility for the Stefanus community.
In 1844 the mill with its wooden water wheel was built as a hammer forge on the Biber .
  • Danube weir and hydroelectric power station in Riedlingen
The old Danube mill with its weir has existed since the 15th century; later it was converted into a small hydroelectric power station. In the “ Schöne Stiege ” museum , rare evidence of water milling is shown.
The core mill, which has been working since 1300, was rebuilt in 1676 by the Franciscan convent in Unlingen (town hall). Today it uses the hydropower of the lower Kanzach with a modern flow turbine .
In 1347 the castle mill was first mentioned as the " Angermühle " of the Prämonstrastenserkloster Obermarchtal , enlarged in 1723 to today's dimensions with a visible framework and as the last of the three Uttenweiler mills closed at the end of the 1980s.

District of Reutlingen

The former watermill of the Benedictine monastery in Zwiefalten was renovated in 1910 as a cooperative mill and still serves as a power supply for Zwiefalten.
  • Wimsener Mühle in Zwiefalten
Mentioned for the first time in 1329 as a grinding mill of the monastery, the baroque construction from 1755 was restored around 2000. Located in a ravine near the Wimsen Cave , the building is now used for permanent exhibitions on exploring the Wimsen Cave and on Minister of State Philipp Christian von Normann-Ehrenfels .

City district of Ulm

  • SchapfenMühle in Ulm-Jungingen
The SchapfenMühle in downtown Ulm, first mentioned in a document in 1452, is probably much older. Twenty Schapfen-Müller generations are known by name and go back to 1499. The house name SchapfenMühle has been in use since 1633. After a fire in 1983, a new mill was built outside the city center of Ulm in the Jungingen district , which was expanded to become Germany's first fully computer-controlled mill in 1998. Its 116 meter high silo tower has meanwhile become a striking landmark in Ulm.
  • Monastery mill in Ulm-Söflingen
The former watermill with water wheel on the Blau was first mentioned in 1365. Today it is used for concerts and as a local museum.

Mühlenwinkel between Schwarzach, Rotach and Lake Constance

Lake Constance district

Lohmühle / Gerbermuseum in Frickingen
The mill from 1835 was used to grind oak and fir bark for the tannery . Today, a tanner museum shows the Rindenmühle with water wheel , Walke , and historic equipment.
The historic furnishings of the mill, which has existed since 1432, have been completely preserved. A valuable collection of old grain and flour sacks and mill models are on display.
Mühlkanal in Langenargen
Since the middle of the 16th century, part of the Argen has been diverted into a mill canal. The mills in Langenargen have benefited from this canal since 1837. Inside the Obermühle you can see a turbine that has been installed to generate electricity since 1900 and a modern grinding plant with old transmission technology .
Down the canal is another mill with two undershot water wheels.
  • Schlossmühle or Raithermühle in Meersburg
The mill belonging to Meersburg Castle has an overshot wheel which, with a diameter of 7.80 m, is one of the largest water wheels still in use in Central Europe.
The mill, built in 1843 as a veneer sawmill with exposed framework , was restored in 1991, but is (still) without function today.

Biberach district

The Nahmühle, first mentioned in a document in 1290, stands on the Schwarzach , the last remaining flour mill of the former four Erting flour mills. It has been privately owned since the end of the Thirty Years War .
  • Dinkelmühle Graf
The Graf Mill , also known as the Lower Mill , was built in 1529 under the name “St. Benignus ”recorded a hydropower-powered grain mill in Tannheim .

Ravensburg district

The mill, first mentioned in 1278, has been in operation since 1693 and was rebuilt in its current state in 1899.
This mill is a modern concentrate mill.
The mill was built in 1946 in its current condition in a small ravine.
In the mill from 1850 with overshot water wheel there is now a private museum for rural handicrafts and culture; it is considered to be the largest private collection of peasant cultural assets in southwest Germany.
  • Haslachmühle in Wilhelmsdorf
The Haslachmühle, mentioned in 1282 as the grinding mill of the Weingarten monastery, now serves as a school and residence for people with multiple disabilities.
  • Rotachmühle in Wilhelmsdorf-Esenhausen
Erected as a grinding mill of the Benedictine monastery Weingarten on the Rotach in 1363 , it is today a technical cultural monument with its four-meter-high overshot water wheel, the up to 140 year old mill machines and the crooked hip roof.

District of Sigmaringen

The water mill on the Schwarzach , presumably founded in the 15th century, is part of the Siebenmühlental of Bad Saulgau. The Francis turbine installed in 1896 still supplies renewable energy today.
Mentioned as early as 1442 as the mill of the Benedictine monastery Weingarten, the wooden water wheel with a diameter of 6.5 meters is still fully functional today.
The functional wood mill is one of the few forest mills in Upper Swabia. The water wheel in the wheel room is still preserved.
A little below, between the wood mill and the Fulgenstadt village mill, there is a small electrical power plant with a waterwheel drive.
This small craft mill is powered by the water power of the Ostrach .
Mauchenmühle
The first mention of the Mauchenmühle (Mühlenweg 13) - it is the last of the eight former Meßkircher mills - was made in 1409. The current company building from 1854 is set up as a semi-automatic refill mill. A modern Francis turbine uses the 5-meter gradient of the Weiherbach to generate energy.
Egg mill
The small baroque mill building from 1634 is now used as a pottery. A small power station uses the hydropower of the Ostrach.
The old mill , mentioned as early as 1279 as the grinding mill of the Cistercian monastery of Salem , was converted into a hotel a few years ago. In the restaurant you can still marvel at the old water wheel.

Mühlenwinkel between Schussen and Wolfegger Ach

Biberach district

In 1480 the Schwaigfurt pond was dammed up by the Premonstratensian monastery Schussenried to operate the mill and for fish farming . The mill can only be viewed from the outside.
  • Adventure mill with mill museum in Bad Schussenried-Reichenbach
This mill was first mentioned in a document in 1275, but the grinding justice in Reichenbach goes back to the year 905. The former mill of the Schussenried monastery has been in the family since 1856.

Ravensburg district

  • Amtzell technical monument trail
    • Hagmühle, already mentioned in 1390 as the grinding mill of the Teutonic Order , with its overshot water wheel and wooden channels in Amtzell- Karbach is now privately owned.
    • The Amtzeller hammer mill with its mighty tail hammers was built in 1923 in the style of the architecture of the Bregenz Forest . It gets its water power from a dammed pond, the water of which leads to a medium-sized bike.
    • The grater mill with its overshot water wheel was sold to the Benedictine monastery Weingarten in 1282 and shut down in 1939, but the technical equipment (grinding mills and two roller mills) was largely preserved.
    • Immediately below the Hagmühle is the sawmill, restored as a museum sawmill, with an undershot water wheel, which, among other things, makes the fruit boxes for the Amtzell orchard.
    • At the Ebersberger Mahlweiher between Neukirch and Amtzell are the ruins of Ebersberg with the well-preserved ruins of the castle and a mill wheel.
  • Herrenmühle in Aulendorf
In the mill from 1606 with the undershot decorative wheel, modern machines process up to seven tons of grist per day.
  • Dobelmühle in Aulendorf-Steinenbach
The former art mill was converted into a conference center with its own hydroelectric power station (visit possible).
Water wheel of the spoon mill at Bergatreute
  • Grinding and sawmill in Aulendorf-Zollenreute
Between Aulendorf and the center of Zollenreute is the grain mill, which originally served as the Thurn und Taxis post office. The sawmill building is one of the last examples of the old Oberland sawmill architecture.
In the Waldseer oil mill with her pug mill in 1829, the production of linseed, poppy seed and rapeseed oil can comprehend today. During visiting hours it is put into operation with a water wheel.
In the valley of the Wolfegger Ach , the mill from presumably Carolingian times works with a freestanding overshot waterwheel of enormous diameter; However, it was first mentioned in a document around 1300.
Mönchmühle in Ravensburg
The Mönchmühle of the Dominican monastery in Löwental was mentioned as early as 1312 . Located in the upper town, the mill processes up to 25 tons of grist per day using the Flappach water power . Today it is the last still intact of the more than 30 water engines on the Flappach.
The former monastery mill has been grinding since 1280 with the help of the Stiller Bach (see below), one of the oldest mill canal systems in Germany with an impressive gorge slope.
The 13th century mill in the Wolfegger Ach valley was shut down in 1957. Mills and grinding machines are from 1937.
The old wind turbine is close to the main entrance; It is one of about thirty former wind turbines that were delivered to the area of ​​today's Ravensburg district at the end of the 19th century based on the American model of the Halladay wind pumps.

Mühlenwinkel Wuerttemberg Allgäu

District of Oberallgäu

The pestle was first mentioned in 1545 and rebuilt in 1997 after a fire using the old equipment.

Ravensburg district

Located on the Tobelbach , the hammer forge is one of the last blacksmiths of its kind in Upper Swabia. Like the associated sawmill, it has been using water power since 1602.
The stilt mill has been attested as a grinding mill of the Waldsee choir monastery since the 14th century and has been family-owned since 1678. Two overshot wheels, staggered one above the other, generated the necessary drive force for the grinding processes.
  • Truschwender mill in Bad Wurzach-Truschwende
The mill was first mentioned in 1511. Later the mill also had a brewery, and in 1910 the mill's electrical equipment supplied the village with electricity
  • Lower mill in Isny
In 1976 the mill on the outskirts of Isny ​​was rebuilt in the style of 1795 with an undershot water wheel.
  • Oil mill in the rural workshop museum in Isny-Sommersbach
The mill building from 1833 has preserved its historical technical equipment with a bone pounder, board saw, grove drill, court forge and coin press. The hub of the former water wheel is still there.
The original grinding mill of the Benedictine monastery in Weingarten was rebuilt in 1884 as a grinding and sawmill. Two functioning water wheels with wooden shovels are used to drive the sawmill and to generate electricity.
  • Rotismühle in Leutkirch-Rotis
Remains of the former castle and the facility, first mentioned in 1414 as a castle mill , are recognizable as soil monuments. The Rotismühle milled grain until the 1960s and ran a sawmill until 1971. Today you can still see the weir system, the canal with rake and two turbines.
  • Ellerazhofer Weiher in Leutkirch-Willerazhofen
On the east bank of the medieval, 46 hectare reservoir of Ellerazhofen is the Lanzenhofer Mühle with another small grinding pond and ornamental water wheel.
The town mill is first mentioned in 1436 and in 1554 it came into the possession of the town hospital. The mill was stopped in 1937. In the years 1969 to 1974 the mill was renovated and set up to accommodate a museum. It shows the original equipment of the traditional grinding mill "behind the running mill wheel".

District of Unterallgäu

The museum shows the historical Kraiberg wind turbine (Dietmannsried municipality) as it was built in 1920, the mechanical workshop of the sawmill fitter Nepomuk Doserim as it was built in 1935 and the Göpelmühle Maransen as it was built in 1800.

Waale

Krummbach in winter

Waale are irrigation channels or ditches that transport water to places of use, which are often far from the source of the water. There are three hillside whales in Upper Swabia.

Krummbach in Ochsenhausen

The Krummbach in Ochsenhausen in the district of Biberach is an artificially created stream by Benedictines in the 15th century , a so-called Benedictine monastery waal.

Motzenbach in Ottobeuren

The Motzenbach in the western forest area of ​​the market town of Ottobeuren is a relic of the hydraulic engineering work of the Benedictines. It winds its way through the forest and offers unforgettable impressions in every season.

Quiet stream in Weingarten

The Stillen Bach system in Weingarten is one of the oldest canal systems in Germany. It was created by Benedictine monks in the Middle Ages to supply water to Weingarten Abbey and has remained almost unchanged to this day. The main construction period of the Stiller Bach and its parts of the water with ten canals and about twenty ponds extends over a period of half a millennium ( 11th to 17th centuries ).

Historical water use of the imperial cities

  • Lech canals in the old town and water towers at the Red Gate in Augsburg
  • City streams and Ratzengraben in Biberach
The Upper and Lower Stadtbach and the Ratzengraben in the old town of Biberach are living evidence of medieval water management . Today themed city tours on the history of the brooks are carried out.
  • Water and mills in Isny
The town of Isny ​​der Ach and the Krummbach have been the focus of attention since 1096. Today, themed city tours to idyllic watercourses, ponds and the restored Lower Mill are offered.
  • Paper mills in Ravensburg
The Humpishaus (city museum) shows a paper workshop on the history of the Ravensburger paper mills. A themed city tour on water use in Ravensburg's old town can be booked through the Ravensburg Tourist Information Office.
  • Fisherman's and tanner's quarter in Ulm
Group and city tours are offered daily in the medieval residential, commercial and mill district (including Lochmühle with water wheel) on the two arms of the Blau .

Web links

Commons : Mühlenstraße Oberschwaben  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Use of recognition as intangible cultural heritage. In: Die Müllergilde eV June 20, 2019, accessed on June 12, 2019 .
  2. ↑ 18 new entries in Germany's directory of intangible cultural heritage. In: German UNESCO Commission. December 11, 2018, accessed June 12, 2019 .