Technische Denkmale in der DDR
Full details
| English title | Monuments of Technology in the GDR |
| Authors & editors | Nadler, Hans [Author] |
| Publisher | Kulturband der DDR |
| Year of publication | 1973 |
| Languages | German (main text) |
| Medium | Book |
| Edition | 1 |
| Topics | |
| Tags | |
| Scope & content | The subject of the book is the preservation of examples of technical achievements in various fields, including mills. The topics covered by the chapters include the principles of conservation, the establishment of museums of technology and the duties of local bodies of power in this regard, before going on to look at different kinds of monuments that deserve such treatment. The chapter on mills starts with an overview of the evolution of mills, then describes the types of mill needing to be preserved in the GDR: the windmills are post mills, paltrok mills, stone tower mills, and Dutch mills. An example of a tower mill is the Gohlis mill near Dresden, which is now a museum. Old water mills are now very rare; they include the former monastery mill from Schulpforta near Naumburg, with an undershot wheel, whose drive and drawing mechanisms are still intact. Urgent steps need to be taken to prevent protected water mills from rotting away. The only water wheel in good condition is the one driving the Frohnau hammer with its overshot wheel. The situation with windmills is better, although of the 549 windmills in Saxony in 1861, only about a dozen survive. The author suggests that the only practical way to ensure their preservation is to select typical mills from particular regions and install them in open air museums.The book contains a map of the major industrial monuments in the GDR, including four windmills and three water mills, all in the south.The illustrations include black-and-white photos of the Frohnau hammer mill in the ore mountains of Saxony (already restored), an exterior view of the post mill of Ballendorf, the drive mechanism of the Schulpforta water mill, and the Unstrut water mill in Artern ca 1900 (whose wheel was demolished in 1972/3) and a cross-section diagram of a post mill from Diderot’s encyclopedia. |
Copies held
Accession no. 230334
- Shelf location: A085-GLE
- Donor: Ken Major Collection