Technisches Denkmal

Description

In the center of Straupitz in the Spreewald stands the Holländerwindmühle Straupitz, a technical-historical monument and an operational mill complex of regional significance.

The extant masonry Holländerwindmühle was built in 1850 on the site of a 17th-century wooden post mill. Its location and construction continue to shape the appearance of the village in the Dahme-Spreewald district of Brandenburg. In the following decades the facility was expanded: in 1885 a sawmill was added, at the beginning of the 20th century a traction engine provided auxiliary power, and in 1910 an oil mill was installed, so that the grain mill, sawmill and oil mill at times operated together.

Several fires led to repeated modernizations. After a sequence of fires the mill received a self-rotating onion-shaped cap with a fantail and jalousie (louvered) sails; later technical changes led to the electrification of individual drives and the removal of the damaged cap in favor of a flat roof. During the GDR period milling and oil production were gradually discontinued, while the sawmill operated as a state-owned enterprise until reunification. Ownership issues were resolved in the 1990s; since 1998 the municipality has been the owner and has long-term leased the facility to the Mühlenverein Holländermühle e. V., Straupitz. The association then operates the mill as a working technical monument with full-time staff and without ongoing public subsidies.

Between 2001 and 2003 a comprehensive reconstruction took place, financed primarily through grants from the European Union and the state of Brandenburg; the private share was provided, among other sources, by subsidies and the association. The historically accurate onion-shaped cap together with new sails was manufactured in the Netherlands.

The complex today presents functional trades: the oil mill runs a demonstration for linseed oil production (“Spreewald‑Gold”); the grain mill reflects the technology of a 1930s craft mill (historically up to 1.5 t of grain/day; cogwheel Ø 3.20 m; tower cap approx. 25 t). The 1885 sawmill has been restored to its original condition; it operates with a rare horizontal frame saw for logs up to 1 m in diameter and also has a vertical frame saw up to 45 cm, which can be driven by transmissions when the wind is sufficient.