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Newsletter 95, Winter 2011 © Hampshire Mills Group |
TIMS 2011 Symposium. Pre-Tour:
Bornholm – Mill Paradise
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At 2pm on Tuesday, 30th August, 2011, fifty two
people from eleven countries, climbed onto a coach
outside terminal 2, Copenhagen Airport and set off
for the beautiful Danish island of Bornholm. Seven
of those people were members of the Hampshire Mills
Group. The tour was brilliantly put together by a
lovely lady called Lise Anderson, aided by a very
small band of helpers.
The countries represented were: Denmark, United
Kingdom, Netherlands, United States of America,
Germany, France, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Australia and Estonia. Fortunately for me, the
universal language for TIMS (The International
Molinological Society) is English. |
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From Copenhagen, we crossed into Sweden, from where
we boarded a ferry to the Island of Bornholm. Within
minutes, we had reached our hotel, just in time for
dinner. The landscape on Bornholm is very different
to that of mainland Denmark. Bornholm, in places,
is hilly and craggy while the mainland is much
flatter and wherever we went, we were never very far
from water, sea, rivers and inlets.
It is one of the prettiest landscapes I have ever
seen. Over the three days, we visited many
windmills, post mills, and beautiful Water Mills (my
favourite type of mill). All the mills had been, or
were in the process of being restored, to a greater
or lesser degree. Some looked a little sad. Some
looked as if they were built last year. Some were
in full working order. Some had very little
equipment left. While others had been converted and
would never again be used for their original
function. Many of the mills still retained their
accompanying buildings: Millers houses, bakeries,
barns etc.. To describe every mill we visited, in
detail, would fill the whole newsletter, so instead,
I will try to give you a snapshot of the sheer
beauty and magnificence of these stunning buildings. |
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On average, we spent an hour at every mill with lots
of photo stops as well and, being a small island, we
were never very far from the next mill. On the
first day, we crossed the centre of Bornholm from
west to east and travelled to all points north,
visiting three Dutch type windmills, two post mills
and a watermill. We also stopped at the most
wonderful round church at Olsker and the ruins of a
very large castle at Hammershus. It only rained
twice while we were on Bornholm, and one of those
times coincided with our arrival at Svaneke Post
Mill (Bechs Mølle).
Question: How many molinologists can you squeeze
under the shelter of a post mill? Answer: A lot!!!
We had lunch at Gudhejm Mølle. Built in 1893, it is
located in the centre of the town and, whilst
looking magnificent from the outside, it’s not what
you would expect inside. No stones. No machinery.
But a shop, offices and a very nice restaurant.
Tejn Post Mill, built around 1800, is still in use
and was moved to the outdoor, Agricultural Museum,
Melstedgård in 2006. This was a fascinating stop.
The museum is set around a cobbled courtyard and
consists of the farm house, barns and stables. It
really gives the visitor a glimpse of how life was
lived, two centuries ago. In the evening, we dined
at Nordbornholm’s Røgeri, a lovely (mainly) seafood
restaurant set on the shores of the Baltic. Fish
features heavily on most menus in Bornholm, which
suited me very well. |
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On the second day, we travelled round the southern
half of Bornholm where we visited to three
windmills, a post mill and another beautiful water
mill. Again, we had more photo opportunities. After
stopping at Kirkmøllen, the oldest preserved stone
mill on Bornholm, we moved on to Slusegårds
Vandmølle, built at the beginning of the nineteenth
century. Although no longer in use, it is still
functional. The mill pond has been dammed and is
connected to both a trout house and the mill. It
was set in the most lovely of landscapes. Jantzens
Fristelser, Nexø was our lunch time stop today. (Fristelser
is Danish for Temptation) It is just 100 metres from
the town but set right on the edge of the old
harbour. Nexø is Bornholm’s largest fishing port
and diners at the restaurant can sit outside and
enjoy the view while they eat, watching the small
fishing boats manoeuvring in and out of the
harbour. The whole atmosphere was a delight.
We moved on to Egeby Mølle, a post mill built in
1787 and then Aarsdale Mølle, an octagonal Dutch
type windmill built in 1877. Our last stop of the
day was at Saxebro Mølle and Bakery which was built
in 1870. It is believed to be the best originally
preserved complex on Bornholm. The Mill, bakery and
millers residence are all in tact. Saxebro is known
as the “Queens Baker” because it supplied layer
cakes for royal weddings. Bread continued to be
made in stone ovens in the bakery until it closed
down in 1986. Since the death of the mill owner in
2006, the mill complex has deteriorated. It is in a
bad state but has been protected from further
decay. It is hoped that Saxebro Mølle and the
bakery will be restored as a working museum. But,
as always, the problem is financing the project.
Back to our hotel for an evening meal and we must
not be too late to bed. We have an early start
tomorrow.
On the third day, after rising at The crack of dawn,
we again boarded a ferry over to Skåne (Skania) the
southernmost province of Sweden, visiting three more
mills on our way to Göteborg. First stop was Övraby
Kvarn, a smock mill built in 1887. It milled
continuously, using wind power until 1974. It was
the last mill in Sweden to use wind power for
commercial activity. Next, on to Kronetorps Kvarn,
a 24m high smock mill built (in 1841) on the site of
three burial mounds. Superstitious islanders said
that it was bad luck to build there and complained
of terrible noises in the mill, caused by
supernatural beings.
Our last mill, after three wonderful days, was Kulla
Gunnarstorp Kvarn. Built in 1789, it is the oldest
windmill in Skåne, to be preserved outside a
museum. A truly magnificent mill as I am sure you
will agree.
We stayed in Göteborg for the night before, once
again, rising at the crack of dawn, to board a ferry
to Frederikshavn in the north of Denmark. We were
heading for Aalborg, where the symposium was to take
place. In Aalborg we were joined by a further forty
nine members from an additional nine countries:
Austria, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Ukraine, Russia,
Rumania, Cyprus and Portugal. What a truly
International Society this is. To my shame and
relief, everyone spoke (and understood) English. I
was able to communicate with everybody. Wherever we
went, we were wined and dined so well, often
consuming traditional food, and wines & beers from
the regions we visited. We had a wonderful time.
Now, I am looking forward with enthusiasm to the
next TIMS symposium in 2015, when we will be
visiting Rumania.
Ros Plunkett |
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