Saxony celebrates its mills

Visits, exhibitions and old crafts: on June 9, numerous mills in Saxony will open their doors to visitors and turn their blades and water wheels. The nationwide opening of German Mill Day will be celebrated this year in Bad Düben in northern Saxony with an ecumenical church service. Guests can visit the Bockwindmühle and the Obermühle - the Obermühle is a historic watermill that was first mentioned around 1500 and is considered the oldest of its kind in the region. In addition to live music and theater performances, there are various show workshops with basket weaving, spinning, lace-making and wood-turning workshops.

Around 600 mills across Germany will be opening their doors on Whit Monday. The restored mills are not only important from the point of view of monument protection, but also have "enormous importance for the town as a cultural center", said Friedrich Rohlfing, Managing Director of the German Society for Mill Science and Mill Preservation (DGM). The mills organize several action days a year and also attract tourists. For him, Bad Düben is a prime example: The restored Obermühle mill is "a feast for the eyes of the first order", said Rohlfing.

There are around 100 mills in Saxony. One of them is the Bock windmill in Kottmarsdorf in Lusatia. The wooden giant, which weighs around 50 tons, has been perched on the 435-metre-high Pfarrberg hill above the village since 1843. On Mill Day, visitors can climb up to the roof beams.

"Good luck" is also likely to be the motto in Grimma. While the watermill museum provides insights into the everyday life of a miller around 1800, the ship mill attracts visitors with a small fair around the historical replica. To reach the Paltrock windmill, the Schlendrian little train runs every hour.

First time Schmidt-Rottluff mill takes part

For the first time since the renovation and reopening of the listed Schmidt-Rottluff residential mill in Chemnitz, the association is taking part in German Mill Day. "We are looking forward to Whitsun with excitement, because if we are lucky, the historic engine, which is more than 100 years old, will return to the mill in time for Whitsun," says spokeswoman Brigitte Pfüller. This had broken down after the mill reopened in December 2024. The Schmidt-Rottluff Mill in Chemnitz commemorates the painter and "Brücke" co-founder Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, whose father earned his living here as a miller.

A Whitsun hike in Saxon Switzerland can be combined with a visit to the Neumann Mill in Kirnitzschtal. A small cutting mill is said to have stood on its site as early as the 14th century. Today's mill is a monument, restaurant and inn all in one. Visitors can experience the restored wood grinding mill for paper production in action.

"The historic mills in Saxony's villages characterize our rural areas and are particularly attractive to culture-loving day tourists," says Culture Minister Barbara Klepsch (CDU). German Mill Day has been held on Whit Monday every year since 1994.