Ship mill

The boat mill or ship mill is now rare design of the water mill. In German, the word forms (with and without joint -S) Ship and boat mill used side by side.

First mention

Witnessed ship mills are already in the year 540 AD, when the Ostrogoths under Witichis at the siege of Rome, the fourteen aqueducts to supply the city destroyed. This means that the Trajan aqueduct was brought to dry up, which powered the water mills on the Janiculum in Trastevere. To ensure the vital supply the city with flour, Belisarius was on barges floating mills in the Tiber anchor whose wheels were driven by its flow.

Technique of ship mills

The mills and milling technology and the drive ( water wheel ) are built with this type of mill on a floating platform. Between the house boat ( towards the shore located nave ) and corrugated boat (wide- ship ) is the undershot water wheel, which is driven by the flow of water. On the houseboat are a wooden house with a bed, table and chair for the ship Müller and his assistants and the milling machinery. There is evidence of ship mills, both sides had a narrower water wheel, similar to what is known of old steamers. The floating platform is anchored to the flow- intensive point in the river, moored at bridge piers because of the good access to the mill or on the shore.

This can float with changing water levels, the ship mill, the mill it is always the same water energy. The efficiency of a ship mill corresponds to an undershot water-mill at best. However, ship mills had the advantage that their energy as opposed to water and wind mills was always available, so that as a base load machine (ie, not particularly strong, but 24 ongoing) was available.

Ship mills could draw (vessel traffic, rafting, ice, low water levels ) as needed to shore safely. Upstream took one horse to help to pull the floating mill to another place. The ship mills were, as well as water and wind mills, owned by the lords or monasteries. This means that the legal situation was settled ( mill law). Historic Ship mills have not survived in central Europe since the emergence of river traffic made ​​it an obstacle. The wooden ship mills were in disrepair due to the constant contact with water usually after about 50 years.

In summer 2010 the prototype of a modern power-generating ship mill was tested in Magdeburg in sight of the historical ship mill. He had a length of 16 m, a width of 6 m and a nominal power of 4.5 kW. The waterwheel had a penetration depth of 1.2 m.

Ship mills on the River Elbe at Lorenzkirch and Strehla in 1840

Reconstructed ship mill in Ginsheim on the Rhine

Geographical Distribution of ship mills

At almost all rivers in Europe ship mills were operated.

  • Same - to 1911, for example, Schiffmühle Westerhüsen
  • Rhine: about Cologne's Rhine mills, Strasbourg, Mainz; Locations- 9th- 20th Century demonstrated. In 1853 there were of old Breisach to Koblenz 61 ship mills.
  • Danube: Regensburg - 1493 mentioned in a document; Vienna Kaisermuehlen, Orth an der Donau (Lower Austria ). Alone in the Vienna area, there have been around 1770 to the 20 ship mills that existed in part to the 20th century.
  • Mur: Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary
  • Weser: Minden - 1326 first documented
  • In Bremen, first mentioned in 1250; on the Great river bridge were from the 16th century until 1838 approximately 8-11 ship mills.
  • Tiber: Rome

Showpieces

  • The International Wind - and Watermill Museum in Gifhorn ( Germany ), 16 original or the faithfully reconstructed mills from 12 different countries
  • The functional ship mill in Minden / Westfalen. can be milled at the Weser with the grain
  • Ginsheim on the banks of the Rhine - Mainz towards the reconstruction was anchored end of September 2011. In 1875 there were 22 mills, for example, in the current
  • The ship mill in Hendrik (Saxony ) at the trough, pumped since 1992 throughout the year on the river, the water is
  • The ship mill in Mureck in Styria
  • Which again featured ship mill in Orth an der Donau
  • A Hungarian ship mill in Kolárovo in Slovakia on the Small Danube
  • In Magdeburg on the banks of the Elbe ( ship mill on Petriförder ), where once up to 23 pieces were
  • In Bad Duben in the castle grounds there are mountain ship mill was ground with the earlier grain.
Mur (river) Ginsheim-Gustavsburg Grimma Ferdinand Gregorovius
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