Great Mill, Gdańsk, Poland - SpottingHistory.com

Built by the Teutonic Knights in 1350, the Great Mill with its rising tiled roof is the grandest civil construction in Gdańsk. Until 1356 when the Radunia Canal was built, the mill was powered by slaves turning 18 huge wheels. It was the largest industrial plant in Europe during the Middle Ages and functioned until the end of WWII. Unfortunately, this treasure has since been turned into a shopping centre. At least there's a small exhibition of old equipment from the mill. The surrounding grain and flour stores, dating to 1400, are home to a few small shops.

References:

In Your Pocket

User Reviews

Михаил Смирнов (9 months ago)
Цегляний млин на штучному острівці на каналі Радуні, побудований у 1350 році тевтонцями. Це одна з найбільших промислових споруд середньовіччя, працювала за первісним призначенням аж до другої світової війни. Млин мав спочатку 12, а потім 18 колес. В приміщенні знаходилися також склад та пекарня.

Bogumiła Trojanowska (10 months ago)
Nieczynne wewnątrz na zewnątrz warte obejrzenia

MrBashmat (11 months ago)
Великий млин, побудований ще в середині XIV століття лицарями Тевтонського ордену. В ці часи він був найбільшим сільськогосподарським будинком середньовічного міста.

Tomasz Puchalski (12 months ago)
Kiedyś jedna z pierwszych galerii handlowych w Gdańsku. Obecnie pusto. Ma być tam przeniesione Muzeum Bursztynu, które obecnie mieści się w Katowni.

SaMeh ARCOMINDLW (14 months ago)
Beautiful building, but nothing to do there other than taking photos from outside.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright adegie

Historic Site of the week

Czocha Castle

Czocha Castle is located on the Lake Leśnia, what is now the Polish part of Upper Lusatia. Czocha castle was built on gneiss rock, and its oldest part is the keep, to which housing structures were later added.

Czocha Castle began as a stronghold, on the Czech-Lusatian border. Its construction was ordered by Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, in the middle of the 13th century (1241–1247). In 1253 castle was handed over to Konrad von Wallhausen, Bishop of Meissen. In 1319 the complex became part of the dukedom of Henry I of Jawor, and after his death, it was taken over by another Silesian prince, Bolko II the Small, and his wife Agnieszka. Origin of the stone castle dates back to 1329.

In the mid-14th century, Czocha Castle was annexed by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. Then, between 1389 and 1453, it belonged to the noble families of von Dohn and von Kluks. Reinforced, the complex was besieged by the Hussites in the early 15th century, who captured it in 1427, and remained in the castle for unknown time (see Hussite Wars). In 1453, the castle was purchased by the family of von Nostitz, who owned it for 250 years, making several changes through remodelling projects in 1525 and 1611. Czocha's walls were strengthened and reinforced, which thwarted a Swedish siege of the complex during the Thirty Years War. In 1703, the castle was purchased by Jan Hartwig von Uechtritz, influential courtier of Augustus II the Strong. On August 17, 1793, the whole complex burned in a fire.

In 1909, Czocha was bought by a cigar manufacturer from Dresden, Ernst Gutschow, who ordered major remodelling, carried out by Berlin architect Bodo Ebhardt, based on a 1703 painting of the castle. Gutschow, who was close to the Russian Imperial Court and hosted several White emigres in Czocha, lived in the castle until March 1945. Upon leaving, he packed up the most valuable possessions and moved them out.

After World War II, the castle was ransacked several times, both by soldiers of the Red Army, and Polish thieves, who came to the so-called Recovered Territories from central and eastern part of the country. Pieces of furniture and other goods were stolen, and in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the castle was home to refugees from Greece. In 1952, Czocha was taken over by the Polish Army. Used as a military vacation resort, it was erased from official maps. The castle has been open to the public since September 1996 as a hotel and conference centre. The complex was featured in several movies and television series. Recently, the castle has been used as the setting of the College of Wizardry, a live action role-playing game (LARP) that takes place in their own universe and can be compared to Harry Potter.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Looks like you are a history fan!

Do you know an ancient castle or hidden ruins near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory. It's absolutely free, easy, and you can do it even without registration (of course you an also create an free account)!

Great Mill

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Best of Middle Rhine Valley, Germany

Must-see historic sighs in Luxembourg

Top historic sights of Istria

Historic Site of the week

Czocha Castle

Looks like you are a history fan!

Do you know an ancient castle or hidden ruins near you?