Welcome to our association's own little windmill museum. This is where we tell the story of our windmill and of windmills throughout the world.
The information panels show the history of this mill. Many of the photographs were taken by Herman Driessen from Duisburg, who’s a great mill enthusiast. The photographs tell their own story, but we’ll tell you the history that goes with it:
It all started in 1982, when a few committed mill aficionados set up a support group to restore the “Alte Mühle” – the "Old Mill", which stood empty. It was being used as a hangout by youngsters, and was becoming increasingly derelict. After the accumulated waste of decades had been cleared, the real work could begin.
With great enthusiasm, our association now embarked on the mill renovation project, working from plans drawn up by the architect Dieter Kratzenberg. New ceiling beams and floors were installed and the foundations drained. On the ground floor, a waterproof concrete floor was poured as a base for paving bricks. The staircases were repaired, and the mill tower and cap re-shingled. New windows were installed, the machinery was refurbished, and new millstones were installed. A lot of the work was done by our members, while other jobs were handled by various companies. A millwright from the Netherlands overhauled the sweep. By June 1985, the sails were once again turning in the wind – for the first time in forty years. Every year since then, the mill has ground 150 hundredweight of rye, wheat and spelt into flour.
The Mill Museum opened in 1988.
In May 1993, the Lower Rhine Mill Association was established right here. It was the forerunner of today’s Rhenish Mill Association. In 1994, Germany’s first National Mills Day was held. It was based on a similar event in the Netherlands and has been held annually on Whit Monday ever since (that would be the day after Pentecost for our US visitors).
Two years later, in 1996, our own beautiful Donsbrügge Mill hosted Germany’s third National Mills Day.
Photos: © Dagmar Trüpschuch und Förderkreis Alte Mühle Donsbrüggen
