Osterather windmill
| Osterather windmill
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 The windmill as seen from the east (2009) |
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| Location and history | ||
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| Coordinates | 51 ° 16 '4 " N , 6 ° 36' 32" E | |
| Location |
 Germany
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| Built | 1883 | |
| Shut down | 1918 | |
| Status | Grinder dismantled, used as a residential building since 1966 | |
| technology | ||
| use | Flour mill | |
| drive | Windmill | |
| Windmill type | Dutch windmill | |
| Number of wings | 4th | |
The Osterath windmill is a disused Dutch windmill in the Meerbusch district of Osterath , at the western end of the village on the road towards Willich .
history
Construction and operation
A post mill at this point burned down in the war between Geldern and Kleve in 1359. It was rebuilt and worked with good proceeds for the local parish of the Willich and Osterath parishes. The stand broke on September 28, 1882. The mill was built in 1883 by the local parish as a replacement for a much older post mill (mentioned as early as the 14th century) on the same site, which had always brought the church good rental income. It was the last classic windmill built in the Neuss district . Actually, windmills were no longer up to date at this point; The steam mills that can be used more flexibly were just gaining acceptance . In Osterath, too, such a steam mill was built almost at the same time as the new windmill. However, the church council as the builder stuck to wind power, arguing that it was available free of charge. Since the church council did not want to shut itself off to progress, the windmill received a steam engine as an auxiliary drive for times of low wind, in order to make it more attractive for tenants. In retrospect, however, the decision to use wind power turned out to be less than a happy one, because after only five years of operation the head with the wings broke off and was not repaired for lack of profitability. The new pastor Groß declared the mill to be a bad investment in 1891 and recommended selling it. After much back and forth, the Osterath parish board finally agreed on July 7, 1893. After that, the mill was powered exclusively by steam power before operations were completely stopped in 1918.
Successor use as an artist workshop
In 1955, the artist Will Brüll acquired the mill, restored it between 1962 and 1966 and furnished it as a house and workshop. The artist lived in the mill until his death (2019). Some of the artist's sculptures are placed in the garden around the mill.
literature
- Schöndeling, Norbert: On the history of the tower windmill in Osterath . In: Meerbuscher history books
- 1st part: Heft 5, 1988, pp. 105-115
- Part 2: Heft 6, 1989, pp. 81-92
