Edited by IPC Prešov | Košice and Žilina Regions
Milling in Liptov
Country: Slovakia
Region: Žilina Region
Type of inspiration: History
Inspiracja
People began processing flour, grain and other products in Slovakia as early as the 13th century. The origins of milling as a craft in Slovakia are associated with minor usufruct rights belonging to the ruler, later mills were built by royal towns, nobility, clergy through monasteries and church institutions. From the 18th century onwards, serfs could also lease a mill from their landlords, a situation that persisted until Maria Theresa's urban reforms. It was very difficult for millers to set up milling guilds, as the craft depended on the presence of a watercourse and the location of the mill, usually at the beginning or on the outskirts of the village, was decided by the landlord. Nevertheless, the establishment of a miller's guild was also recorded in Liptov in 1835. Milling as a craft experienced its greatest development in the middle of the 19th century, when, on the basis of historical records, more than 4 800 mills were registered in our territory. With the advent of steam-powered mills, the dependence of mills on the presence of watercourses was overcome and mills began to be built directly next to grain-growing areas.
The Oblazy water mills from the first half of the 19th century, which are integrated into the original natural environment in the Kvačianska valley, are among the mountain mills. They were built along an important road connecting Liptov with Orava and Poland. Later they were converted into a sawmill, then abandoned, and today they have acquired their present appearance thanks to the Slovak Association of Nature and Landscape Conservationists, which restored the mills to their present form.
The operation of the "Upper Mill" was ensured by a wheel, which was driven by the water through the upper drive, on the "Lower Mill" there are two wheels, which drove not only the mill equipment but also the old type of sawmill. Today, the mills are a popular tourist attraction, but mainly a monument of folk technical construction from the early 19th century. They are one of the last preserved building-technical types of this kind in Liptov.
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The Living Scourge
dir. Marek ŤapákDiscover locations related to this inspiration
Kvacianska Valley
Slovakia Žilina Region
