The Regenstein Mill (german: Regensteinmühle) was a water-powered

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

and

oil mill An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

below

Regenstein Castle Regenstein Castle (german: Burg Regenstein) is a ruined castle that lies three kilometres north of Blankenburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is a popular tourist destination where, each year, a knight's tournament and a garrison festiva ...

north of the town of

Blankenburg (Harz) Blankenburg (Harz) is a town and health resort in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, at the north foot of the Harz Mountains, southwest of Halberstadt. It has been in large part rebuilt since a fire in 1836, and possesses a castle ...

in the county of

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

(

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

History and description

The mill was built in the first half of the 12th century in order to supply the castle and its outlying estate of Nienrode. The overshot water for the mill wheels was fed by means of a mill channel, just under 2 kilometres long, from the Goldbach stream below the pond of Mönchemühleteich. Between 1988 and 1991, work was carried out to uncover this channel over a length of about 500 metres. The Regenstein Mill was in operation until the end of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and then increasingly fell into rack and ruin. In 1758, during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, the remains of the mill were demolished by the Prussians for strategic reasons as it lay closeto the border between Brunswick and Prussia. Around 1990 the two mill wheels were reconstructed.

Hiking

Regenstein is the only mill in the

Harzer Wandernadel The Harzer Wandernadel is a system of hiking awards in the Harz mountains in central Germany. The hiker (or mountain biker) can earn awards at different levels of challenge by walking to the various checkpoints in the network and stamping his or ...

hiking network and is checkpoint no. 82.Harzer Wandernadel
Checkpoint 82 – ''Regensteinmühle''
at harzer-wandernadel.de A few metres away from the replica mill wheels is a hiker's

refuge hut Refuge is a place or state of safety. It may also refer to a more specific meaning: Safety * Area of refuge, a location in a building that may be used by occupants in the event of a fire * Bunker, a defensive fortification designed to protect pe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regensteinmuhle Blankenburg (Harz) Watermills in Germany Buildings and structures in Harz (district)