Pfladermühle (Augsburg)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
View of the Pfladermühle (2014)

The Pfladermühle is a former water mill in the Lechviertel of Augsburg . It is located in the Pfladergasse named after it, about across from the Alte Silberschmiede and borders on the back of the openly flowing Vorderen Lech .

The name “Pfladermühle” goes back to the word Pfladern . This is synonymous with powdering and fluttering , which means something like "flutter" or "splash". Regionally, the term Flodermühle is still in use today and describes a special type of mill.

In the past, the building was registered as a monument in the Bavarian list of monuments.

history

It is controversial when exactly the plow mill was built. Early chronicles suggest that there was already a "water mill on the Vorderen Lech" in the 10th century. However, its existence has only been considered certain since 1276, when it is listed as one of a total of ten grain mills in the Augsburg city charter.

Bishop Siegfried IV von Algertshausen bequeathed the property to the bishopric of Augsburg in 1288 shortly before his death . The mill was then managed by various tenants. In the 16th century, the Augsburg bishopric finally sold the Pfladermühle. However, the subsequent owners still had to pay an annual base rate to the Augsburg bishopric (until secularization ). In 1707 the mill became the property of the Richter family.

Felix Grandel (1905–1977), son of Gottfried Grandel , inherited the mill from his mother (née Richter) in 1935. He initially let the milling operation for flour production continue. At the same time, he concentrated on his research into the utilization of by-products from the milling operation. The building survived the Allied air raids in World War II without any significant damage, so that operations could quickly be resumed after the war. In 1947, Grandel founded Keimdiät GmbH (today Dr. Grandel GmbH ) as a subsidiary of Richter's Pfladermühle . Mill operations were then completely discontinued in 1970. Since then, the building has served as the company's administrative headquarters.

Mill drive

Hydroelectric power plant on the back of the building (2017)

The former mill is fed by the Vorderen Lech. A few meters after the Pfladermühle, this Lech Canal disappears underground and flows under the monastery of the Franciscan Sisters of Maria Stern and the monastery church there. At the height of the Perlachberg it flows into the Middle Lech .

For many centuries the mill has been operated with wooden water wheels since it was founded. In order to increase the performance of the mill, the millers gradually increased the number of water wheels over the course of time. During the modernization that took place in 1876, the four existing water wheels were dismantled and a hydroelectric power plant with a Jonval turbine was built instead .

After the mill was closed in 1970, the hydroelectric power station was initially unused for a long time. In 1994 the plant was finally renewed and a Francis turbine installed. The small power plant has generated a maximum output of 19 kW since it was restarted.

Facade design

Modern sundial on the facade of the Pfladermühle (2013)

A special feature is the facade design of the Pfladermühle. In 1719 the sundial was renewed by Johann Evangelist Holzer and the following motto was attached underneath :

"Look at the clock and look at it,
The hour where you can't die,
If you can't find it, be always
ready for death every hour ..."

When the mill was modernized in 1876, the saying disappeared from the facade. After a devastating fire in 1905, the mill was rebuilt and the sundial repainted. Underneath it was "Richter's Pfladermühle since 1288". The sundial and the facade lettering are no longer available today. As a reminder of the painted sundial, however, a modern sundial was installed in the same place.

literature

  • Günther Grünsteudel et al. (Ed.): Augsburger Stadtlexikon . 2nd Edition. Perlach-Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-922769-28-4 , p. 715 .
  • Franz Häußler: Hydropower in Augsburg . context Verlag, Augsburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-939645-85-6 , p. 160 .
  • Werner Holzheu: Lechviertel and Ulrichsviertel . Holzheu Verlag, Mering 2013, ISBN 978-3-938330-16-6 , pp. 71 .

Web links

Commons : Pfladermühle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Anton Werner: The water forces of the city of Augsburg . Verlag der Math. Rieger'schen Buchhandlung, Augsburg 1905, p. 53 .
  2. ↑ List of monuments for Augsburg (PDF) at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, monument number D-7-61-000-791
  3. ^ Norbert Lieb and Ludwig Ohlenrot: War damage plan 1944.
  4. ↑ City of Augsburg: Ecological urban renewal - reactivation of the Augsburg hydropower (PDF file; 1.2 MB)

Coordinates: 48 ° 22 ′ 4.6 ″  N , 10 ° 53 ′ 59.8 ″  E