Paltrock windmill

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"Ebbecke" in Mockrehna- Audenhain
Paltrockmühle Petkus
Paltrockmühle Petkus - roller ring

A Paltrock windmill is a modified post windmill in which the mill building was placed on a roller ring. This structural change made it possible to enlarge the mill and accommodate more machines or grinding aisles. The name is said to come from the resemblance of the mill, which is pulled down at the side, with the pleated skirt of a clergyman. The other, more likely origin of the name: The name is derived from the similarity of the mill building with the coat-like robe of Palatinate immigrants in the Netherlands , the "Pfalzrock" (Niederdt. Palzrock, ndl. Palzrok). Over the years, the word was ground to "Paltrock" (Lower German) / "Paltrok" (Dutch). The derivation "Paltrock = Faltrock", which can sometimes be read, is wrong. The folded skirt is called "plooirok" in Dutch.

The mill building of the Paltrock windmill rests on a roller turntable on a ring-shaped foundation. This means that here, similar to the post mill, the complete mill body with the blades is turned into the wind . In this latest type of windmill, however, the plane of rotation is entirely on the ground plane. In the oldest mill constructions, the post mills, this was still the post level; in the later developed Dutch windmills , the rotating level was below the hood. The deep rotating plane created a large space in the mill, which was also statically stable due to the multi-point bearing on the roller ring - in contrast to the post mill. This space was sometimes enlarged by side pockets so that further milling machines could be installed.

The pre-turn was mostly done with a compass rose , but there are still rare examples of a turn with a codend .

Paltrockmühlen were developed at the beginning of the 20th century and mainly built in the less windy areas of eastern Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , Brandenburg , Mecklenburg and Pomerania .

The numerous (German) Paltrock windmills are mostly converted post windmills. But there are also new buildings. The owners usually opted for this type of design because it was more cost-effective than a similarly powerful Dutch windmill.

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