Watermills On Zala River

For centuries, the watermills on the Zala river (Zala County, Western Transdanubia, Hungary) had co-existed in a single harmonious unity with each other as well as with the river, the Zala valley and Zala meadow, both latter ones renowned for their beauty. Landscape rehabilitation would indeed be necessary because due to the closure of the mills and the destruction of the sluices, the level of the ground water in the meadows, usually having very loamy soil, has dramatically decreased, which has had detrimental impacts on the condition of the meadows. The declining tendency in the grassland culture hasn't helped either. What is more, in several cases parts of the meadows were turned into arable lands or industrial sites. The final blow to the deteriorating meadows that gradually grew characterless was dealt by the disgraceful regulation of the river Zala (rather meaning its canalisation) in the beginning of the 1960s (Izsák 2016). A further station of the process was the elimination of the mills from the life of the river for all.
„There were about 200 known steam mills and watermills in the county Zala at the end of the 1800s (the territory of the county was much larger at that time though)(Molnár 2015). According to the statistical data of the Zala county archives of the year 1949, there were about 180 mills in operation in the county then (140 of which located in the county’s present, smaller territory). In the beginning of the 1940s, there were still about 37 mills grinding on the river Zala (Izsák and Kummer 2011).
One can still find water in some old mill-ponds. For the history of a miller's family see Jakosa 2011, 2012, both in Hungarian). These ponds provide suitable habitat for some aquatic organisms. As for the history of the published data and photos, I. Hajdu, J. Izsák, Á. Jakosa, Gy. Kummer and Mrs. M. Marx, the latter working with Göcseji Muzeum, Zalaegerszeg decided in 2004 to start gathering documents and data systematically on the watermills along the river Zala. We have based our selection of the mills to be presented on a list from the year 1949 preserved in the Zala-county archives. The chart was provided by Mr. Gy. Kummer. A significant number of the photos were also taken by him. The mills indicated by red characters exist today mainly in documents and in the mind's eye only. For the possibility of hydropower by the water of small rivers, e.g. Zala, see Gerse 2014.

Operation

By sluice („barrage”), usually the full sluice system as well as the sluice gates themselves were referred to in live speech. The couple-of-hundred-meter-long section of the river above the mills that can be swollen by (wooden) sluice gates is called the head race. The river banks right above the sluice gate were often protected by concrete walls from erosion. On this river section, the lowered sluice gate barred and „swelled” or „held” water behind it as one of the preparatory steps of grinding. By the way, the higher or lower position of the sluice before the turbine chamber and before the run-out to the mill-pond, one could control the volume of the water running through the turbine chamber to rotate the turbine. This latter ensured the energy necessary for milling. When grinding, the water was let out to flow onto the turbine encased in the turbine chamber protected by a lattice. From thereon, the water left the turbine chamber via its outlet into the mill pit. (Driftwood and other debris were cleared from the lattice by a rake.) Of course, in the meantime, the water level in the head race continuously decreased as the water was „let out” or „released”. Sluice gates could be raised or let down by specific iron structures. Directly above the sluice gate, practically annexed to it stood the sluice bridge that made it possible to get close to the sluice gates. One could also cross the river using this little bridge. There also used to be a larger bridge on the head race suited for the transportation of grains and flour, but it had usually been ruined by the 1950s and 1960s. During swelling, if the water level in the head race reached the upper edge of the lowered sluice gate, the water cascaded over it, and showered onto a concrete surface producing characteristic sounds, and then rushed into the wide and (3-to-8-meter) deep mill pit. The mill pit was used to be called mill pond in other locations. The expressions appearing in this paragraph aren't uniformly used anyway. It is certain though that the anglers in Zalaegerszeg used these terms in the 1950s. At the lower end of the mill pit that narrowed again, usually a crescent-shaped gravel islet formed. The following outflow section was shallow, and continuously deepened again. The water often meandered along an extended tract, flowing ever slower, and getting ever deeper, to become the head race of the following mill. In some cases, the river was bifurcated above the mill by digging a new branch leading to the mill (and serving as its „head race” or „leat”). On the other branch („small branch) there was also a sluice called „small sluice”. (If I remember well, the related smaller „mill pond” was also called a small pond by the anglers in the past.) By the sluice, one could control the amount of water flowing towards the main branch of the river. The small pond located behind the small sluice flowed into the small branch to rejoin the main branch after about 100 to 200 meters. As far as I recall, small branches and small sluices could only be found in Zalaegerszeg or further downward on the river Zala (but not even there in all the cases: e.g. in the 1950s the Baumgartner mill in Zalaegerszeg didn't feature a small sluice). In the riverbed hollows or incavations could form while in other tracts the water was shallow and running. During floods, everything got messed up: in the stead of the river Zala and its meadow, a spectacular, uninterrupted expanse of water appeared that a few days later receded.
In several comments, we refer to piles sticking out from or standing in the water in the immediate vicinity of the mills. The corner of the mill closest to the water was often supported by such a pile. In other cases, the piles upheld a proper planking above the water. Standing on such a planking, one could do maintenance work on the sluice gates, e.g. defrost them. But similar piles may also be remains of old-time wooden bridges.
The structure equipped with its own little roof and window often raised on top of the mill building is the ventage of the powder-house, but it could also be used to accommodate the protruding end of the elevator. One could often see a „rain panel” sticking out above the door of the building that protected the people and the sacs from the rain during loading. The by-products of grinding could be used to feed pigs and poultry. Therefore, apart from the stable housing the work-horses, there were often piggeries, henneries or even pigeonries in the vicinity of the mills.

The mills below are referred to primarily by their location, secondarily by their popular name(s). The latter one usually coincides with the name of the last owner or sometimes with that of the tenant.
In several cases, the mill ponds even today retain significant amounts of water. One of the potential reasons is that in the old days, springlets surviving up to the present emerged at the bottom of the then several-meter-deep water.

List of the watermills

Zala County Archives

Gallery

File:Jakosa malom Zalalövő.jpg, Jakosa mill from the north, Zalalövő, 2005
File:Vizimalom Zalalövő02.jpg, Vizi mill, remains of the turbine chamber, Zalalövő, 2005
File:Vizimalom Zalalövő03.jpg, Vizi mill, remains of the turbine chamber, Zalalövő, 2005
File:Molnár malom Zalapataka02.jpg, Molnár mill from southeast, Zalapataka, about 2010
File:Molnár malom Zalapataka03.jpg, Molnár mill from southeast, Zalapataka, about 2010
File:Bankovics malom Budafa02.jpg, Bankovics mill, Budafa, 2005
File:Zsohár Károlyi malom Zalacséb02.jpg, Zsohár-Károlyi mill, Zalacséb-Gyökefa, rebuilt, 2010
File:Salomvári malom maradványok02.jpg, Salomvár mill, the place of the millpond, 2005
File:Huszár malom Boncodfölde02.jpg, Huszár mill, concrete remains, Boncodfölde
File:Huszár malom Boncodfölde03.jpg, Huszár mill, the concrete stripe represents the contour of the mill, Boncodfölde
File:Baumgartner malom02.jpg, Baumgartner-Németh mill from the north, Bagodvitenyéd, 2010
File:Baumgartner malom03.jpg, Baumgartner-Németh mill from the west, Bagodvitenyéd, 2010
File:Baumgatner malom04.jpg, Baumgartner-Németh mil, Bagodvitenyéd, 2010
File:Tóth malom Martonfa01.jpg, Tóth mill, Martonfa, 2005
File:Tóth malom Martonfa03.jpg, Tóth mill, Martonfa, 2005
File:Tóth malom Martonfa04.jpg, Tóth mill, Martonfa, 2005
File:Tóth malom Martonfa05.jpg, Tóth mill, Martonfa, 2005
File:Tóth malom Martonfa06.jpg, Tóth mill, Martonfa, 2005
File:Klázer malom02.jpg, Klázer or Varga mill from the south, Teskánd, 2005
File:Klázer malom03.jpg, Klázer or Varga mill, Teskánd, 2005
File:Klázer malom04.jpg, Klázer or Varga mill, Teskánd, 2005
File:Pozsgai malom02.jpg, Pozsgai mill from the southwest, Apátfa, 2005
File:Pozsgai malom03.jpg, Pozsgai mill from the east, Apátfa, 2005
File:Béry malom02.jpg, "Hídi" vagy Béry mill, the former millpond from the north, Andráshida, 2005
File:Béry malom03.jpg, "Hídi" vagy Béry mill, the former millpond from the east, Andráshida, 2005
File:Béry malom04.jpg, "Hídi" vagy Béry mill, remains of a concrete wall, Andráshida, 2005
File:Gógán malom02.jpg, Gógán vagy Schreiner mill, with an annex, Zalaegerszeg, 2011
File:Horváth malom Neszele02.jpg, Horváth mill, the former millpond from the west, Neszele, 2009
File:Horváth malom Neszele03.jpg, Horváth mill, the former millpond from the northwest, Neszele, 2009
File:Hencz malom 01.jpg, Hencz mill, the woody part of the building from the west, Zalaegerszeg, 2005
File:Hencz malom 03.jpg, Hencz mill, the wall of the mill with a plaque dedicated to György Hencz, a former owner, taken from the east, Zalaegerszeg, 2005
File:Gömbös mill 02.jpg, Gömbös or Németh mill, the former millpond from the southwest, Zalaegerszeg, around 1940
File:Böhm mill 02.jpg, Böhm mill (old town 'beach'), Kaszaháza, around 1960
File:Böhm mill 03.jpg, Böhm mill (old town 'beach'), Kaszaháza, around 1950
File:Kummer mill 02.jpg, Baumgartner or Kummer mill, from the west, Zalaegerszeg, around 1960
File:Kummer mill 03.jpg, Baumgartner or Kummer mill, the Zala river, Zalaegerszeg around 1960
File:Kummer mill 04.jpg, Baumgartner or Kummer mill, the concrete cover of the turbine chamber, at the same time the bottom of the turbine house, Zalaegerszeg
File:Vér mill 02.jpg, Vér mill, stone remains, Csácsbozsok, 2011
File:Vér mill 03.jpg, Vér mill, the top part of the turbine chamber and an iron vestige, Csácsbozsok, 2011
File:Cságoly malom 02.jpg, Cságoly mill, the miller's lodge, Petőhenye, 2005
File:Takács malom 02.jpg, Takács mill, Alibánfa
File:Mill in Tőberek 02.jpg, Tőberek mill, the millpond from the west, from the former sluice-bridge, Nemesapáti
File:Mill in Tőberek 03.jpg, Tőberek mill, the millpond from the west, from the former sluice-bridge, Nemesapáti
File:Légrády mill 02.jpg, Légrády-Miszori mill, southeastern corner of the mill, Kemendollár, 2006
File:Légrády mill 03.jpg, Légrády-Miszori mill, the millpond from the west, Kemendollár, 2006
File:Légrády mill 04.jpg, Légrády-Miszori mill, the endrance of the pond seen from sluice-bridge, Kemendollár, 2006
File:Hámos malom 02.jpg, Hámos mill, the millpond from the southeast, Zalaistvánd
File:Domján mill 02.jpg, Koch-Domján mill, the millpond and the turbine chamber from the northwest, Pakod, 2011
File:Domján mill 03.jpg, Koch-Domján mill, the former riverbed of Zala, Pakod, 2011
File:Domján mill 04.jpg, Koch-Domján mill, the former millpond, Pakod, 2011
File:Domján mill 06.jpg, Koch-Domján mill, the top of the turbine chamber with the hole of the turbine shaft in the middle, Pakod, 2011
File:Domján mill 01.jpg, Koch-Domján mill, the former large and deep mill pond has nearly disappeared, Pakod, 2011
File:Csorba malom 02.jpg, Csorba mill, the former mill pond with the turbine chamber and a partial view of the mill building from the southeast, Zalabér, 2011
File:Hármasi malom 02.jpg, Hármasi or Keszler mill, concrete remains, Batyk
File:Hármasi malom 03.jpg, Hármasi or Keszler mill, the current riverbed of Zala at the former mill, remains of the sluice system in the background, Batyk
File:Hámosi malom 02.jpg, Kutrovácz-Keszler or Hámosi mill, the western wall of the former mill building, Tüskeszentpéter
File:Hámosi malom 03.jpg, Kutrovácz-Keszler or Hámosi mill, two separate sluices, Tüskeszentpéter
File:Hámosi malom 04.jpg, Kutrovácz-Keszler or Hámosi mill, the sluices and the bridge, Tüskeszentpéter
File:Schlésinger malom 02.jpg, Schlésinger mill, the northern wall, Zalaszentrót
File:Mittermayer-Horváth malom 02.jpg, Mittermayer-Horváth mill, the millpond, Zalakoppány, 2011
File:Mittermayer-Horváth malom 03.jpg, Mittermayer-Horváth mill, the remains of the turbine, Zalakoppány, 2011
File:Mittermayer-Horváth malom 04.jpg, Mittermayer-Horváth mill, the remains of the turbinechamber, Zalakoppány, 2011
File:Vöröss malom 01.jpg, Vöröss mill, the former millpond from the north, Kehidakustány, 2011
File:Vöröss malom 03.jpg, Vöröss mill, row of piles in the water, Kehidakustány, 2011
File:Vöröss malom 04.jpg, Vöröss mill, concrete remains, Kehidakustány, 2011
File:Böröck malom 02.jpg, Böröck mill, the renovated building of the mill, Kehidakustány, 2011
File:Böröck malom 03.jpg, Böröck mill, the turbine chamber, Kehidakustány, 2011
File:Böröck malom 04.jpg, Böröck mill, the millpond and the turbine outlet, Kehidakustány, 2011

Sources

*László Molnár: One-time watermills in present-day Zalaegerszeg. Zalai Múzeum, 2015, vol. 22. pp. 301–330. (in Hungarian, with an English summary)
*Árpád Jakosa: Our Family! Genealogy. (In Hungarian) Manuscript, 2012.
*Árpád Jakosa: The mills. (In Hungarian) Manuscript, 2011.
*János Izsák, Gyula Kummer: Data on the last decades of the mills on Zala river. (In Hungarian) Manuscript, 2011.
*János Izsák: Additional photos and information on research of watermill on Zala. (In Hungarian) Manuscript, 2016.
*Károly Gerse: Contribution of hydropower utilization and EU's plans (in Hungarian). Magyar Tudomány 2014, vol. 175. pp. 779–789.

{{coord missing, Hungary

Buildings and structures in Zala County
Grinding mills
Industrial buildings in Hungary
Watermills