Mittelmühle (Räbke)
The middle mill , also called the middle paper mill and later the mustard mill , was an overshot water mill on the Schunter near Räbke in the Helmstedt district . The former mill building has been a listed building since 1993 .
history
The middle mill was outside the village. There was already a stately lease mill in the area in the 16th century, and in 1594 Anton von Warberg sold it with the garden and courtyard on hereditary interest to the Helmstedt city bailiff Hermann Brandes. He converted the mill into the first paper mill in Räbke, which the Brunswick Duke Julius licensed. It supplied the University of Helmstedt, which had a high demand for paper. The ducal paper mill in Oker was unable to comply with this, as it also supplied paper to the royal offices. Among other things, Heinrich Meibom's 6000-page work on Braunschweig's history was printed on Räbker paper .
A larger structure with a grinding mill, a boke mill for flax processing, a tan mill with a tannery developed from the mill. The complex included houses for craftsmen and a restaurant. The industrial settlement was met with opposition during the Warberg rule, as the employees, in contrast to the rural population, did not pay any taxes and were off duty. From this the first Räbker Mill War developed . In the conflict, violent acts such as night robberies and shooting at Mittelmühle employees were committed by the Warberger bailiffs. There were also acts of sabotage, such as digging up the water for the mill and removing the mill wheels. The incidents led to lawsuits.
During the Thirty Years' War , Hermann Brandes had to demolish his mill and let the yard become desolate so as not to offer shelter to enemy troops. In 1676 Ernst Wanschape (Wahnschaffe), who came from a Müller family, acquired the deserted Mühlenplatz from the heirs of Hermann Brandes and again set up a paper mill. It was leased to master Jürgen Kanable and, after his death in 1692, to his widow, who in 1708 moved to the Obermühle that she had built as a new paper mill.
After 1708 a member of the Wahnschape family took over the Mittelmühle. In 1720 it burned down by lightning and was rebuilt. In 1723 the mill was to be equipped with modern paper production technology by a Dutch factory. The facility was not put into operation because the Princely Chamber stopped work. She feared competition for her official mills. In 1749, the operator at that time, Johann Georg Wanschape, received approval for the Holländerwerk, which crushed the rags better with its roller than the previous stamping works . This enabled the mill to deliver more and finer paper. At that time there were voices according to which the quality of the paper from the manorial paper mill in Oker was hardly inferior. In 1764 Johann Ernst Schaarschmidt acquired the mill and increased its value through his skill.
The middle mill is shown on a map of Räbke and the surrounding area drawn up as part of the Braunschweig general survey of 1754. At the time, almost 570 people lived in the village's 84 residential buildings.
In 1830 a fire destroyed the mill and it was rebuilt. According to the Lower Saxony State Office for Monument Preservation, limestone blocks were used on the ground floor, which came from the demolition of the Langeleben hunting lodge . The upper floor of the mill building was designed as a half-timbered tower. The new mill building was equipped with French paper-making machines. Around 30 people were employed in the mill in 1845. Around 100 people lived on the Mühlenhof. At the time, the mill had a paper machine that produced continuous paper on rolls. Until then, two hand-made paper was worked in shifts around the clock. In 1845 there was another fire and a reconstruction.
Economic difficulties led to the mill being auctioned in 1867. It was then used to make mustard . In return, the mill got a steam boiler system with two tall chimneys at the end of the 19th century.
In the Räbker mill cadastre from 1939, the mill is referred to as a mustard mill, which annually processed around eight tons of mustard seeds and supplied merchants in the immediate and wider area with mustard. In addition to the water power, it had an additional electric motor. It was shut down during the Second World War .
See also
literature
- Wilhelm Kleeberg: Räbke in: Niedersächsische Mühlengeschichte , Hanover, 1978, Schlütersche , p. 387
- Förderverein Räbker Chronik: (Ed.): Die Mittelmühle in: Räbke. Ein Dorf am Elmesrand , Helmstedt, 2005, pp. 326–329
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 11 ′ 46.5 ″ N , 10 ° 53 ′ 35 ″ E