Svanemøllen (Swan Mill) is a wooden

smock mill The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This typ ...

located just west of Svaneke on the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

island of Bornholm. Built in 1857, it remained in service until the 1950s. Since 1960, it has been a listed building."Sag: Svanemøllen, Svaneke"
''Kulturarv''. Retrieved 6 November 2012.

Background

Over the years, Bornholm has had up to 30 smock mills built of wood and almost as many in masonry. Today four wooden and three masonry mills remain. Of the wooden mills, Svanemøllen is the only one to be listed. It is certainly the prize of the wooden mills, well built and well preserved. Its octagonal body is clad with oak shingles as is its

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinat ...

cap.Niels-Holger Larsen, "Svanemøllen Svaneke, Historie: Møllen og dens ændring gennem tiderne; og om dens fremtid"
Svanekes Venner. Retrieved 6 November 2012.

History

In 1855, ten influential citizens from Svaneke and

Ibsker St. Ib's Church (''Sankt Ibs Kirke'' or Ibsker), 3 km south-west of Svaneke on the Danish island of Bornholm, is a fine 12th century Romanesque building. The altarpiece was painted by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg in 1846.post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All p ...

s in the Svaneke area but only

Bechs Mølle Bechs Mølle (Bech's Windmill) is a post mill located in Svaneke on the Danish island of Bornholm. Built in 1629, it is the oldest standing windmill in Denmark. In recent years, extensive restoration work has been carried out, preserving as far ...

was still fully functional. Even that, however, was by no means as productive as a modern smock mill. Bornholm already had considerable experience with smock mills, starting with the one on Christiansø built in 1761. The association therefore bought a plot of land northwest of the town, not far from the three northern post mills. They commissioned Christian Sommer from Rønne to build the mill which was completed in 1857. It had five grinders, three for flour, the others for meal and husks. Together with the mill, there was a half-timbered two-storey house with a cellar providing accommodation for the miller, initially Christian Sommer himself, who operated the mill until 1861. Thereafter Hans Anker Kofoed and his son Hans Anker ran the mill until 1920, opening a bakery in 1895 and later adding self-adjusting sails, a self-adjusting

yaw system Yaw or yaws may refer to: Measurement and technology Movement about the vertical axis * Yaw angle (or yaw rotation), one of the angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing rotation about the vertical axis * ...

and an engine housed in a little shed northwest of the mill. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the engine provided Svaneke with electric power. Both the windmill and the bakery ceased operations in the 1950s. In 1958, just before it was going to be demolished, the mill was acquired by Svanekes Venner who subsequently undertook extensive restoration work. Since the mill was listed in 1960, the shingles and wind rose have been replaced (1966–67), the cap and two of the sails have been completely renewed (1993–94) and the wind rose has been fully repaired (2001).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Svanemollen Bornholm Smock mills in Denmark Listed buildings and structures in Bornholm Windmills completed in 1857 Defunct bakeries of Denmark 1857 establishments in Denmark Listed windmills in Denmark

Background

History

See also

References