The building retains its original appearance, façade design and detailing as well as parts of the historic fixtures and fittings.

History

The mill and the accompanying utility buildings were erected in 1894, as evidenced by the inscription on the south-western gable wall. The building replaced an earlier mill from 1850 which was subsequently lost to the blaze. The construction of the new building was funded by the Agricultural Association of Merchants and Retailers of Stargard, which owned the land on which the building was erected. Originally, the mill was powered by water turbines and came equipped with milling machinery imported from the United States. In the 1930s, the mill was acquired by Gustaw Karow, the owner of the so-called Great Mill in Stargard. After 1945, the mill was taken over by the State Cereal Processing Company; it was retrofitted with milling equipment salvaged from other similar facilities in the region as well as with a new electrical drive system, allowing it to attain the output of approximately 20 tonnes of flour per day. From 1999 onwards, the mill has been private property; following its restoration in the year 2000, the mill was adapted to serve as a hotel and restaurant.

Description

The mill is located in the north-eastern part of town, on the western side of Gdańska street, at the fork of the Młynówka river and the mill canal, which has since dried out. A pair of utility buildings containing kitchen and technical facilities are located on the north-western side of the mill itself. The building features a uniform appearance, its brick façade detailing designed in the Historicist style in a manner typical for industrial facilities from the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The building was designed on a rectangular floor plan (28.5 x 11.3 metres), its front façade facing Gdańska street. A small lean-to which had originally served as the turbine chamber adjoins the south-western wall of the mill. The building is compact in shape, its three-storey body covered with a mono-pitched roof. The total height of the building is approximately 11 metres. The exposed ceramic brick walls exhibit a high quality of craftsmanship insofar as the masonry is concerned. The bricks are arranged in a Flemish bond. Inside, the building features wooden ceilings with exposed beams (above the basement level and the ground floor level), with modern ceilings used for the upper storeys. The roof truss is of the rafter and purlin type, with queen posts. The roof is clad with asphalt roofing felt. The façades retain their original design and décor, featuring a regular arrangement of axial partitions and brick detailing. The façades of the longer and shorter walls of the building follow a six-axial and three-axial layout respectively; they are partitioned with lesenes as well as sawtooth and dentilled cornices. The monumental parapet wall and corner posts provide the finishing touch, with the south-western gable being further adorned with a rectangular recess incorporating the date of construction of the building and crowned with a crenellated parapet. The window and door openings are topped with segmental, corniced lintels. The interiors of the ground floor and basement level retain their original décor, with exposed beamed ceilings and brick walls. Parts of the fixtures and fittings of the former mill (including the milling equipment, scales, flour bags, trademark stamps etc.) are on display in the restaurant and inside the staircase.

The site is open to the general public, currently serving as a restaurant.

compiled by Waldemar Witek, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Szczecin, 12-01-2015.

Bibliography

• Witek W., Młyny wodne i wiatraki w krajobrazie kulturowym Pomorza Zachodniego - („Płyń wodo, wiej wietrze”), Vol. IV, Andziak B. (ed.), Siemczyno 2014, pp. 55-70.