The Regenstein Mill () was a water-powered

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

and

oil mill An oil mill is a grinding mill designed to crush or bruise oil-bearing seeds, such as linseed or peanuts, or other oil-rich vegetable material, such as olives or the fruit of the oil palm, which can then be pressed to extract vegetable oils, whi ...

below

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

north of the town of

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

in the county of

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, 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'' der ...

(

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

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

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, the remains of the mill were demolished by the Prussians for strategic reasons as it lay close to 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. Hikers (or mountain bikers) can earn awards at different levels of challenge by walking to the various checkpoints in the network and stamping their ...

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.

References

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