The mills along the Blau
Blaubeuren could easily call itself the “town of mills”. Once there were five mills along the Blau within a very short distance. A small bark mill was next to the drop hammer smithy. Then came the Obere Mühle directly on the southern bank of the Blautopf. The Trillermühle, also called Marxenmühle, was next. Since 1975, its water power was used to pump water up to the villages on the Swabian Jura. Behind the bridge followed the Schimmelmühle and Rappenmühle. Their close neighbourhood at a barrage often caused arguments, especially when the water level was low. In 1898 the two squabbling families solved the problem with an arranged marriage whereby the Schimmelmühle gained the upper hand and is the only mill in town which is still in operation. Just a few metres further down the Blau is the former Klausenmühle which is a listed building. In the Middle Ages there were also several mills along the Ach outside the town wall. The Hospital Mill, however, was located within the walled town, and the Monastery Mill had its place in the monastery compound.
First come first serve
In order to avoid trouble in front of a mill, there was this simple and binding rule: first come first serve. However, until 1866, farmers were not allowed to choose any mill because of the “Mühlenbann”, which meant that not the farmers but the sovereign decided where they had to have their grain ground. Farmers cultivating land that belonged to the monastery had to bring their grain to the Monastery Mill while tenant farmers of the hospital had to have their grain ground in the Hospital Mill in Aachgasse. The farmers had to give a tithe of every bushel of flour to their feudal lord, the miller received the "milling penny" or kept part of the flour for himself. Millers were respected people because they could write and calculate, but they were often viewed with suspicion. Since their work was indispensable for the population's daily bread, they enjoyed some privileges, for example, they were exempt from military service.
