The Mill Quarter
Blaubeuren could easily call itself the “city of mills”. At the shortest distance there were once five grinding mills on the young Blau, a small tan mill stood where the visitor platform is now located next to the hammer forge. The Obere Mühle stood directly on the southern bank of the Blautopf, followed by the so-called second mill, also known as the Trillermühle or Marxenmühle, whose water power has driven the pump for the Alb water supply since 1875. After the bridge, Schimmelmühle and Rappenmühle were next to each other at a barrage, which was problematic when the water was low and often led to arguments. The solution was a marriage in 1898, and since then flour has been milled here under the name Schimmelmühle. Just a few meters further down the blue is the medieval Klausenmühle, now a listed building. Klausenmüller Buck milled here until 1986. There were also several mills on the Ach in front of the city gates in the Middle Ages. The hospital mill was located within the city, followed by the monastery mill in the monastery courtyard. In Gerhausen, the water power of the Blau was used in the old and new mills. The Söll Mill continues this tradition to this day.
First come first serve
In order to avoid trouble in front of the mill, there was this simple and binding rule. However, until 1866, farmers were not able to choose their own mill because of the “mill ban”. The sovereign decided who had to grind his grain where. In Blaubeuren, the subjects of the monastery brought their flour to the monastery mill in the monastery courtyard, while those belonging to the hospital had to have their flour ground in the hospital mill in Aachgasse. The farmers gave a tithe of every bushel of flour to their feudal lord, the miller received the milling groschen or kept part of the flour. Müller were respected people among the population 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 and were allowed to grind on Sundays if necessary.
