Gallery

>> The Old Mill

From the beginning, the mill ground rye, wheat and barley or malt. Later, a bread bakery was built, with a large chimney on the east side of the mill.

This leading industrial plant of the Old City was, until 1454, under Gdansk’s Comtur (the Teutonic Knights’ commander) and later Polish King Casimir Jagiellonczyk gave the mill to the City Council (Radzie Miejskiej).

Twentytwo people worked in the mill under the direction of the Werkmeister. In the 17th Century, the Council leased the mill to the von Bodeck family. More were hired and the complex was expanded by a new building - the Mill’s Mansion (Dwor Mlynskj). It was located on the north side of the Big Mill, where today is a lawn. Inside its walls were living quarters, mill offices and comfortable rooms for the millers’ brotherhood (or guild). Two additional mills were nearby until the 18th Century - a tannery and fulling mill. Later, in the same place, a mint was built. The 19th Century brought a sugar refinery, and later a Masonic Lodge, established 1873 “Under the Red Cross”. In 1836 the mill was modernized by installing new steam turbines. They were replaced in the 20th Century by electricity and the mill was operated until 1945.

During World War II, the Guild Mansion burned down, but the Big Mill and the supporting facility, wrongly called the Small Mill, were badly damaged. Reconstruction of both facilities was done in 1962-67. The Big Mill is now used the Baltic Artistic Agency and the Small Mill is the home the Polish Anglers Society.

Left: Card from Danzig to Leipzig, cancelled on 9.9.30, 2100-2200 hours, received the next day! (See Ganzsachen translation in Reports No. 43, 46 and 53.)

 

Danzig Report  Nr. 62 - January - February - March - 1989, Page 5.