One of the few preserved windmills in the Małopolska region.

History

The Łętocha watermill with the miller’s house was built after 1855. It was partially renovated in 1937. The original wooden weir was damaged by flood in 1948. The upper and lower millraces are currently drained, as is the pond at the upper millrace. After 1945, the building was transferred to the state and was used as a warehouse. The milling equipment was dismantled and taken away. The Łętocha family still lived in the residential part of the complex. In 1969 the building was purchased by a private person for residential, tourist, and catering purposes. In the years 1970-1976, it underwent a complete renovation.

Description

The watermill address is ul. Daszyńskiego 68. It is outside the city centre, on the road from Krakow to Zakopane, on the Raba River, on the administrative border of Stróża. The complex consists of two buildings: a wooden watermill and a residential building (miller’s house). The single-level mill was built on a rectangular plan. It is covered with a tiled, gable roof. It has two dormers. The wooden log construction is set on a stone foundation. The interior of the mill had three levels. At the ground floor, the spacious interior was covered with a wooden, beamed ceiling with a longitudinal joist supported on pillars. The middle level accommodated grinding equipment. The uppermost level contained cranes controlling the channel gate and water discharge. Below, there was a water wheel chamber, separated by a wooden screen and accessible from the outside of the building. The double-leaf entrance door to the watermill is located in the middle of its shorter side. The residential part adjoins the longer side of the mill at the right angle. It was built on a rectangular plan as a one-level, two-bay structure with a through vestibule on the axis, covered with a tiled, gable roof. It was made of stone and plastered. A prominent, slanting buttress is visible at one of the corners. Chamfered beam ceilings inside. Double-leave strip entrance door. The watermill had a wooden, breastshot, finger water wheel. The milling weir in the Raba River bed was made of stone and wood. At the upper millrace, there used to be a pond.

Private property. The site can be viewed from the outside.

Author of the note Olga Dyba, 13/07/2014

Bibliography

• Bogdanowski J., Kornecki M., Katalog zabytków budownictwa przemysłowego w Polsce. Vol. III, no. 2. Powiat Myślenice - Województwo Krakowskie. Wrocław - Warszawa - Kraków 1963, p. 21.
• Zabytki techniki województwa miejskiego Krakowskiego. Lustracja 1981. Myślenice. Młyn wodny Anity Unold (poprzednio J. Łętochy). Oprac. Kornecki M., PKZ o/Kraków, 1981.
• Zinkow J., Myślenice i okolice. Monograficzny przewodnik. Kraków 1993.