Description of the attraction
The ensemble of eight Alpine mills located in the Austrian city of Heiligenblut is unique. Such buildings, erected from short-lived wood, in many surrounding villages suffered from environmental influences or were destroyed by people. In Heiligenblut, as many as eight mills survived, which were used in past centuries for grinding grain.
Several centuries ago, it was not meadow grasses that dominated on the sunny slopes of the Alps, but cold-resistant wheat varieties. They grew at an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level. Almost every alpine farm has its own mill installed on the alpine slope. Some of these structures belonged to several farms at once. They were more spacious and had several millstones for processing grain at once. All mills in the vicinity of Heiligenblut were built no later than the 18th century. The "youngest" building dates back to 1792. In 1976, an association was created in the city, whose task was to protect the Alpine mills.
All mills are wooden houses raised above the ground on solid piles. A stream of water passes under them, turning the mill wheel. Thus, all mills could work at the same time.
All buildings and water wheels were made of larch wood, and the millstones were made of granite.
Today, the old mills have been renovated. Some have been fitted with new steps and open terraces instead of dilapidated ones. You can climb any mill, look down at the water turning the wheel at any time of the day.
