Holtsee Windmill, Gut Hohenlieth, K. Sehestedt
A drawing of the Holtsee Windmühle at Gut Hohenlieth
The following information is found in Chronik der Gemeinde Holtsee:
"Today in Holtsee, a modern motor-operated mill stands. It is set up in a very modern manner. If one comes along the village street, one does not find the mill so easily. In front of the mill stands the nice house of the proprietor.
The Holtsee mill has had several predecessors. The first mill was an Erbpachtsmühle [a hereditary leasehold mill] of the noble estate Hohenlieth. It was built probably in 1766, for in a Erbpachtscontract of 1767, it was mentioned for the first time." [This contract was signed by Johann Christoph Hinrich von Brömsen, owner of the Gut Hohenlieth, and the Honorable Müller Frantz Hermann Bevensee.]
"According to the Erbpachtscontract of 14. 11. 1767, it was a Kellerholländer Mühle. It was comparatively large, for it had four floors."
[A Kellerholländer Mühle was a mill built over a cellar (keller) and it was a style of windmill from Holland (holländer). The cellar provided an unloading/loading area and storage space for the grain brought in by farmers. By means of elevators and hoists, the sacks of grain could be lifted to the floors above where the grinding stones were housed. The cellar was constructed of stone. A platform encircled the mill which served two purposes. First, it provided a roof which sheltered the unloading/loading area. Secondly, it provided a walkway for the miller. Kellerholländer mills had a rotatable cap and the sails were mounted to this cap. As the wind direction changed, the miller could turn the sails to face into the wind.]
"In 1869 this mill burned down. [after standing for 103 years.] In a storm, the sails of the mill set themselves in motion, despite having the brakes on. The wooden blocks surrounding the brake wheel got hot and began to burn. The thatched roof caught fire comparatively quickly and in a short time, the mill was burned down to the foundation walls. This mill is noteworthy because on 10 December, 1813 the battle held at Sehestedt, between the Danes and the Confederates, began here." [The battle began at 7 AM and ended about 4 PM. Forces supported by England were caught off-guard by a surprise attack from Danish forces. The Danes won this battle.]
"In the same year that the mill burned down, a new one was constructed. It was again a Kellerholländer-Mühle. The sub-structure was built entirely out of bricks. The roof was covered again with thatch. The mill had, like the first, four floors. This mill burned down already in 1892. It was struck by lightning.
After some years another mill was constructed. It was again a Kellerholländer. It was in appearance like the others, only it had modern workings. The mill was neglected and burned down in 1913. What remained was dismantled in 1914.
The three mills all stood on the same site. The building site is a small, elevated piece of ground south of the village Holtsee on the road to New-Holtsee. One can still easily recognize the place. [Mills were often built on man-made mounds. The purpose of the mound was to elevate the mill above any wind blocks, and also because air currents are stronger 20-40 feet above the ground surface.] About 1800 feet from the site [or mound] stands the old Miller's house. It is the farmhouse of Johann Rehder. The dwelling is still maintained in its original form. It is presumed that it is approximately 200 years old. The house is a brick building that is criss-crossed with half timbering. It is a variation of a Lower Saxony farmhouse."
A Kellerholländer Mühle
Signature of Frantz Hermann Bevensee from 1767:
First and last page of the Erbpacht contract signed on 14 November, 1767:
An addendnum to this contract reads:
Ich bescheinige, daß der Ober- und Landger.- Advocat Book mir, namens meiner Mutter und der übrigen Erben meines Vaters für zwey Bottsstellen, 1 Fach Bodenbretter, 1 Schweinetrog, einer Pferte, und die im Garten befindlichen Bäume und Sträucher, als welches alles mein verstorbener Vater in der zuletzt von Ihm bewohnten Kathe angeschafft und dabey angepflanzt hatte, 9 Rthr., schreibe neu Reichsth. bezahlet, und diese Sachen sich dadurch zugleich zu eigen gemacht habe.
Hohenliedt, den 29. Apr. 1804
J.H. Bevensee
I certify, that the Supreme Court and Country Court Advocate Book has paid 9 Reichsthaler (new Reichsthaler) to me, in the name of my mother and the remaining heirs of my father [i.e Frantz Hermann Bevensee] for two cooper-stands [i.e. Bottsstellen= something to do with coopers?] , 1 shelf [or drawer?] of floorboards, 1 pig trough, one horse and the trees and shrubs in the garden all of which my late father had acquired and planted in the cottage inhabited by him at the last, and thereby has made these things his own.
Hohenliedt 29 April, 1804
J.H. Bevensee
See: 1767 Erbpacht for a complete transcription and translation of this document
The manor house at Gut Hohenlieth
Sources:
Chronik der Gemeinde Holtsee, by der Gemeinde Holtsee, Arbeitskreis Dorfchronik Published: Holtsee, 1998, page 29.
[Scans of printed source courtesy Matthias Roese; translation courtesy David Strelan]
