Löher Mühle (Löhrmühle)

The Löher mill was not a ban mill, where the local farmers were forced to have their grain ground only here, but had the status of a private mill to which many farmers came voluntarily. In the first half of the 18th century, it served around 500 farmers who came from the villages of Eichhofen, Glörfeld and Öckinghausen. This made it one of the medium-sized private mills, but it suffered considerable losses over the decades: By 1800, there were only 115 farmers still bringing their grain to be milled.

One reason for this development was the fact that the mostly unskilled mill servants were unable to rectify technical defects, while the tenants were only interested in making a profit and not in maintaining the building and grinding mechanism. As a result, the mill stood idle for years towards the end of the 18th century due to dilapidation. In 1805, it was fundamentally rebuilt and took on its current form. In 1811, Ludwig von Holtzbrinck sold the farm and mill to Johann Hermann Neuhaus, whose family managed the mill for another 160 years. The last miller was Eduard Neuhaus, who sold the farm and mill to his long-time tenant Otto Fischer in 1952 and kept the building in good order until the 1970s.

The mill was still in operation and could therefore be kept in working order. The mill is powered by the water of the River Ennepe. About 250 meters above the building, the upper ditch branches off from the Ennepe, which supplies water to the mill as required. Over the last twenty meters, the upper ditch narrows into a narrow, deep canal. The water then continues to flow through a pipe and drives the upper wheel of the mill. The power is transferred from the water wheel to the millstones via cogwheels. Parallel to this, a cam ring rotates, which drives the 'vibrating shoe' via a wooden rod. This causes the grain to trickle in a steady stream through the opening of the rotor stone, where it passes between the millstones and is crushed. It falls through the flour chute into the collecting bag, which is suspended in the basement. The height of the multer was usually 4 percent of the grain delivered, so that considerable quantities of flour and grain accumulated in the mill building.

A bakery was therefore set up in the neighboring farmhouse. Bread and baked goods were transported by horse-drawn cart and sold in the surrounding villages. During the 1980s, the mill was restored with the help of the town of Halver, the Märkischer Kreis and the Westfalen Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments. The original quarry stone masonry was uncovered, the upper ditch was secured by a retaining wall and one of the two grinding gears was made operational again so that rye meal for wholemeal bread can be ground again at any time.

You can discover the Löhrmühle on the themed circular trail VolmeSchatz - Panorama: Märkische Fernsichten, which starts and ends at the Nordeler Schleifkotten hiking parking lot near the mill.

All information without guarantee!